Heroes Always Comeback
by SakuraUchiha4Eternity
Summary: She always knew that he would come back. She just hoped that they could get back some of the things that they used to have. She hoped that her team wasn't broken, and if it was, that it could be fixed.
1. Chapter 1: How To Save A Life

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Sakura Haruno pumped her legs from tree to tree. Her muscles were burning, but she could hardly feel anything. The only thing she could feel at this exact moment was her pounding heart. She had to run. She had to get to them. What if she didn't make it in time? No, she couldn't think like that. She _would_ make it there for them.

She felt the ground shake from underneath her. Her green eyes looked ahead in agony. She could feel both of their powerful chakra signatures up ahead. They were fighting, just like she feared. She had to hurry. She pushed herself to move faster, even though her body screamed in protest.

She gritted her teeth and put some extra chakra to the soles of her feet and she finally started to move at a faster pace. This would drain some of her chakra, but it would be worth it. As long as she reached them on time to heal both of them and save them, it would be okay. If she ended up dying to save her boys, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that they lived. They _had_ to live. She could not live in a world where neither of them existed. They were her family and she would do anything to keep it that way.

Sakura could feel herself getting closer to them, but then she felt both of them building up powerful jutsu. It was the final blow and it would kill both of them if she didn't make it there on time.

"NOO!" she screamed.

She felt the tears stinging her eyes, but she willed them to stop. She could not cry right now. She could not be weak when they needed her. She had to be strong and save the both of them.

She willed herself to go faster, but her body wouldn't. She grunted and finally reached them. They were both going straight for each other: Sasuke with his chidori and Naruto with his rasengan.

"STOP!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs.

Both of her boys turned to her, but they were already too far. It was too late, she was too late. They hit each other with a bang. Sakura had to shield herself from the light that came from the explosion.

After it was over, she looked around frantically for them. Some persistent tears came out of her eyes. She quickly wiped them away. No, she could not cry. She had to find them and heal them as quickly as possible.

She found Naruto almost instantly. She ran up to him and knelt down beside him. He was barely conscious. He tried to talk, but she shushed him and looked at his wounds. He was bad. His arm was broken and ripped up. He also had a few broken ribs along with a punctured lung.

She quickly went to work on his broken ribs and fixed his lung. As she was about to work on his arm, Naruto shook his head slowly.

"Go help teme," he whispered.

Sakura nodded and stood up immediately. She searched around for him, but couldn't find him. She started to panic and she had to calm herself down. She concentrated and searched for his chakra signature. There! It was faint, but he was still alive.

She hurried towards him and dropped down beside him. She gasped when she looked at him. He was even worse than Naruto. If she didn't hurry, he would die. He had a hole in his chest from Naruto's rasengan.

She put her hands on the wound and green chakra flowed out of her and into his injuries. This was the first time she had ever healed Sasuke. The thought made her sad and she had to shut it down and save it for later. Right now she had to focus. She worked hard and it took a while, but finally, she had healed the worst of it.

In the distance she could feel the others coming as back up. She was glad because she really was going to need some help getting these two back.

Just as she was about to get up, Sasuke grabbed her hand and she gasped. His dark eyes were on her and they were filled with pain.

"Sakura…"

A lump formed in her throat and she just couldn't say anything. She wanted to make his pain go away, but she couldn't get it all done out here in the field. She needed to get him back to the village and finish it.

"…I'm sorry…" he mumbled.

She barely caught it, but she did. Tears came down her face involuntarily. She cursed herself for letting him see her cry. How was it that he was the only one who could make her cry so easily? She had worked up for years on her crying crap, and all he had to do was be Sasuke-kun and he messed with all her hard work.

She gripped his hand and said, "It's okay, Sasuke-kun."

She fiddled through her medic bag with her free hand and took out some painkillers. She carefully injected some into his system. He finally closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

She tried to stand up, but his grip was still on her hand. She looked down at him, expecting him to be awake, but he was in a deep sleep. She gulped and looked over towards where she had left Naruto. She needed to get back to him and finish healing him.

Just as she was about to pry Sasuke's grip from her, their backup arrived. It consisted of Kakashi, the rookie 9, and Guy Sensei's team.

"Naruto's wounded!" she yelled towards Hinata. She was the best medic here besides herself.

Hinata nodded and knelt down beside him. Sakura watched from afar as she started to work on him. She heard him scream, which meant that Hinata was re-breaking his arm. She winced for Naruto's pain.

Kakashi came up to her. She met his gaze and then looked back down at Sasuke. He was coming home, but they didn't know if it would be willingly or forced just yet. They wouldn't be able to determine that until he woke up again.

"Good job, Sakura. You saved them," Kakashi praised his old pupil.

She looked up at him and smiled. She could tell he was smiling too because his right eye was crinkling. She wanted to get up and greet everyone, but Sasuke's hold on her was like a death grip.

Shikamaru came up to them and looked kind of bored, but also like he was figuring something in his head.

"So they fought," he stated.

Sakura nodded and glanced back down at Sasuke. Why couldn't he have just surrendered peacefully? Why did they always have to end up fighting? Why couldn't she have been strong enough to stop them?

"So he will be a prisoner and we will have to bring him back with force…"

Sakura looked back up at Shikamaru and answered steadily, "I think that he will come back willingly. Besides, he will be too injured to try and run away or cause any real damage."

"What makes you so certain he will come back willingly?" Kiba asked. He had just joined the conversation. Sakura hadn't noticed him coming until now.

"Because I just know," she answered simply.

"We can't just rely on your intuition," Neji stated.

Sakura glared at him and said evenly, "Well, my intuition knew that he was leaving the village that night all those years ago."

Neji pursed his lips and nobody else argued with her on the subject. They could doubt her all they wanted, but she was also right. She had known that he was leaving, or had a hunch that night. Unfortunately, she had been right.

Kakashi went to go and check on how Naruto was doing, along with the others. Sakura went to work on healing some of Sasuke's more minor injuries. It was hard to do with just one hand, but she managed.

"That's a pretty tight grip," Ino said from behind her.

She turned to her long-time rival/friend and smiled at her. Ino grinned back and sat on a stump a little ways away from Sasuke and Sakura.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Sakura nodded and said, "As long as we get back to Konoha quickly, he will. Naruto as well."

Ino nodded and pointed at Sasuke's hand that was around her wrist. Sakura could almost feel the blush coming on. Even when he was unconscious he could still make her face turn the color of her red shirt. He was a traitor to her village and yet with him touching her, she couldn't help but get that feeling in the bottom of her stomach and blush.

"I tried to make him let go, but he just won't," Sakura answered.

Ino grinned and said, "He must have really missed you."

Sakura rolled her eyes and said, "Shut up Ino."

Ino waved her off and said, "And you know you missed him, Sakura."

"Does this mean I win?" Sakura asked with a grin forming on her lips.

Ino chuckled and answered, "Yeah."

But then she added seriously, "You've earned it, Sakura."

Sakura just stared at her as Ino walked away. She turned her attention back to Sasuke and started to work on his wounds again. Then she smiled to herself because everything was finally going back to the way they were supposed to be.

"_**The people, who can hurt you the most, obviously mean the most."**_

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	2. Chapter 2: Returning Home

Disclaimer: I wish I did, but I don't own Naruto.

Naruto was already awake, but only because he could heal so damn fast. If he wasn't so injured, Sakura would hit him upside the head really hard with her enhanced fists. That would probably just cause him to be even more idiotic than he already is though, so she decided against it.

She turned her attention towards Kakashi, who had the sleeping Sasuke on his back. It had taken forever before she could get Sasuke's grip off of her. She smiled warmly at the image. She remembered that day that Kakashi and Jiraiya came back to the village with Naruto and Sasuke on their backs. Then her mind went to how Sasuke had almost died, and her heart started to clench. The memory still made her feel queasy. She had stayed with him in the hospital as much as she possibly could. The whole time she felt absolutely useless. She couldn't do anything to help save him, which was one of the main reasons she became a medic and studied under Tsunade, the very same person who had saved him.

Naruto's loud voice made her come out of her reverie. She looked over at the scene and couldn't help but laugh. Rock Lee had been carrying Naruto until he woke up, and was trying to put Naruto back on his back. Naruto was trying to get away, but because of his weak state, and because of how fast Rock Lee is, he couldn't.

"HELP!" he screamed.

Sakura laughed and yelled to Naruto, "Get back on his back Naruto Uzamaki, or so help me I'll beat-!"

"Okay, okay! Jeesh Sakura-chan!"

With that, he reluctantly got back onto Rock Lee's back. He mumbled things underneath his breath and he was lucky Sakura didn't hear him.

All commotion stopped when they saw the gates to Konoha just up ahead. They were finally home, and this time, Sasuke was as well. Sakura could almost jump with joy. They had finally accomplished their goal, and brought him back. They could be Team 7 again.

Naruto was even quiet as they passed through the gates. It was starting to grow dark by now. It was ironic that he had left at nightfall, and returned at the same time as well.

Sakura turned to Kakashi and said, "I'll take him to the hospital, Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto got off of Lee's back and was eyeing the Ramen shop. Sakura grumbled and ordered, "Naruto! If you're not at the hospital before I can get there, you won't ever be able to eat ramen again!"

Naruto gulped because he knew that she meant it, and because he was also dreadfully tired. His arm also hurt pretty damn bad too, along with his other injuries. He sighed and started to run towards the hospital and yelled, "I love you, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and caught Hinata's hurt face before she could hide it. If only Naruto knew how much that Hyuuga loved him? Sakura could only wonder how Hinata fell in love with an idiot like him, but then again, how had she fallen in love with a cold hearted traitor?

Since she was so small, and he would swallow her, Sakura put Sasuke's arm over her shoulder and held onto his waist. She grunted at the extra weight, but also relished in it. It had been so long since she had to hold onto Sasuke like this. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed it until this moment.

Sakura waved to everyone as they dispersed, then she hurried off towards the hospital. Once she reached it, there was already Anbu inside. Kakashi must be talking with Tsunade, Sakura thought.

"He's injured, and he won't be able to bother anyone," she said evenly with a little bit of ice.

The Anbu just nodded and they all disappeared. She knew they were somewhere though, watching. That was their job though. The receptionist and all the nurses that were in the room, just stared at her and Sasuke in disbelief. She tried to ignore their staring as best she could as she made her way to an empty room.

As she finished healing him, she grew extremely tired. There was no way she would be able to make it back to her apartment. She barely had enough energy to sit down in the waiting chair beside Sasuke's bed and lay her head down on it. She passed out immediately.

* * *

Sasuke awoke to a pressure being held onto his arm and abdomen. There was also light seeping in through the window that was glaring on his face. He slowly opened his eyes to see a sleeping Sakura in a chair with her upper body lying on top of him.

He suddenly got a flash back of fighting Haru all those years ago and everyone thinking he was dead. Back then he had woken up to Sakura bawling on him, so much to where he couldn't even breathe.

This time she was sleeping though, and he didn't know if he could wake her up. It seemed so cruel because it looked like she really needed the rest. He slowly sat up, careful not to wake her, and got a pain in his chest. He looked underneath his blue hospital shirt and saw the bandages. Where was Naruto? Where was he? He was in Konoha?

He looked back down at Sakura and felt a debt to her, but was also angry with her. She had saved his life, but she had also brought him back here. He would be executed for Kami's sake! Didn't she know any better?

Before he could even attempt to wake her, she woke up suddenly. She sat up quickly and stretched. Sasuke tried to avert his eyes when her shirt rose up to reveal some of her flat stomach. Then he found himself looking at her whole body. She had changed, and matured since her thirteen year old self.

She didn't even seem to notice though as she quickly stood up and checked all of his vitals. She smiled and turned to him.

"All of your worst injuries are under control, but you'll need to stay in the hospital for about another week…"

"What am I doing here?"

Her eyes narrowed at him and she still looked really tired. Then she answered, "You're home, Sasuke-kun."

"I can see that Sakura!" he almost yelled. He was so angry. How had he managed to almost get killed by _Naruto_ and then brought back _here_?

She jumped at his angry voice and then her eyes turned to ice.

"There will be a trial after your injuries are healed enough, unless Tsunade decides differently," her voice was even cold too.

Sasuke stared at her. In that moment, he finally realized that she wasn't the same Sakura he used to know. She had changed, not only in appearance, but also in strength. She didn't bow down to him anymore or take in everything he said like he was a god or something.

This was a new Sakura, a foreign one, he really didn't know very much about. Apparently, she was a healer. Her clothing was different. She had gotten rid of that red dress outfit, and traded it for a red sleeveless shirt, the same black spandex-like shorts, and a skirt. Her boots were different as well and he saw some gloves that were discarded onto the floor.

The only thing that was the same was her short pink hair. Even her eyes weren't the same. He remembered how big and vibrant they used to be. They were almost always filled with joy and passion. Now, they were empty, like she was trying to hide all the emotions that she was feeling behind a façade.

Sasuke didn't know what to make of this Sakura. She looked through his chart and then put it back down. Finally, she looked back down at him. Her eyes were now filled with determination.

"The main thing that will save you," she continued, "would have to deal with you telling us that you surrender peacefully."

She stared at him expectantly, waiting. Inside, she was screaming and wanting to hit him. She needed him to say that he did indeed surrender. He _had_ to.

"Why would I do that?"

A growl escaped her lips and she was in front of him in an instant. She slapped him, hard. A whelp formed almost immediately after her hand left his cheek. Then it started to bruise.

"What the hell was that for?" he yelled.

She glared at him and yelled back, "It was for your idiocy!"

He just glared at her as he gripped his sore cheek. Man could she pack a punch. It was stinging like hell. Now he could definitely say that this was not the old Sakura. This was a new one, and he didn't know if he liked her very much just yet.

"You have killed your brother, so you can come home now, Sasuke. It will be hard at first, but everything will be fine. You owe us this! Just say it dammit!"

He just stared at her. He was kind of hurt (though he would never admit it) that she had dropped the _Kun._ She was almost begging him, and he could tell that this new Sakura did not like to beg. He also couldn't believe that she had cussed. He never thought that he would hear a curse word come out of Sakura Haruno's innocent mouth.

Of course he wanted to come back here, but he thought that after all the things he had done, he would not be able to. Yet, here was his old teammate telling him that yes he could. She was telling him that it was possible. And she was also right, he did owe them. They were true friends. They had stuck by him, even after he betrayed them and tried to kill them. They never gave up on him. They never abandoned him.

As she headed towards the door, he said, "I surrender."

He saw her freeze. The hand that was on the door handle gripped it tightly. She never turned to him and smiled or even ran up to him and hugged him like he expected. Instead, she was silent. Clearly she hadn't been expecting him to actually agree.

"Okay, I'll go and report to Tsunade," she said quickly. Then she exited out of the room, leaving him alone. Well, not completely alone because he saw the Anbu just outside his door and some out his window. There were probably some on the roof of the hospital as well.

He sighed and lay back down on the bed. Things were going to start to change very soon, and he could feel it. A warm feeling formed in his chest as it finally set in that he was _home_ again.

"_**Even if it's painful, and it hurts like hell, it's better to have someone than to be completely alone."**_


	3. Chapter 3: Visiting Hours

Disclaimer: Doesn't matter how much I wish it to be true, sadly, I will never own Naruto.

Her head was pounding and even her freaking hand was cramping. There was just so much damn paperwork. The things she did for this hospital! She hadn't slept in probably forty-eight hours (not counting the few hours of sleep waiting for Sasuke to wake up).

Sakura had been so sure that Sasuke would surrender, but at the last minute, she doubted herself. She had really thought, at those last seconds, that he wasn't going to do it. She was so happy that he did though. At least he still saw reason.

Her headache started to get worse as she thought about her dark haired teammate. He and Naruto had caused her to get backed up on all of her paperwork. She blamed it on them. They were both going to recover and be fine in due time.

She only went to see Sasuke to check his vitals, but she would leave immediately after that. She just couldn't stay in there with him. She felt too vulnerable when she was around him. She needed some time to herself for right now. She just couldn't be around him for the time being.

Someone knocked on her door and she groaned. Who was it now?

"Come in."

A young nurse came in and said, "Hokage-sama wishes to speak with you."

Sakura nodded and the nurse left the room. She stretched as she stood up and exited her office and headed towards the Hokage's tower. She was so tired. Caffeine was the only thing keeping her awake right now.

She knocked on Tsunade's door and waited for her to answer.

"Come in, Sakura."

Sakura wondered how she had known it was her, but just shrugged. She was too tired to really care at this point.

She opened the doors and came inside. Tsunade was sitting behind her large desk, which looked different. There was something different about her desk.

"You've finished your paperwork!" Sakura burst out loud.

Shizune smiled and Tsunade nodded while a grin formed on her lips. She seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

"You wished to speak with me, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade nodded and said, "Do you think the Uchiha is a threat to our village?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at her Hokage. Mainly it was in confusion. After she absorbed the question and thought about it, she finally answered.

"No, he is not."

"And why do you think that, Sakura?"

Sakura looked her mentor straight in the eye and answered, "He surrendered."

Tsunade gave her a questioning look as if to say and? Sakura sighed and continued, "I have never met another person whose pride is greater than Sasuke Uchiha's. So for him to say that he has surrendered clearly means that it was hard for him to say. It's very special and important coming from him."

Tsunade nodded and took in her student's words carefully. She understood what Sakura was saying and it made plenty of sense.

"When will he be well enough for an interrogation?"

Sakura bit her lip because she couldn't stand the thought of Sasuke being interrogated. It made her hurt just to think that he was getting hurt.

"In two or three days," Sakura answered unwillingly.

Tsunade nodded and said, "If he tells us everything that we need to know then we will know for sure that he surrenders. Then there will be no need for a trial. But he will have to be put on probation for three months and Anbu will have to watch him at all times."

Sakura nodded and she calmed. She prayed that Sasuke told them everything that they needed to know. If he didn't, she would _make_ him.

"You're dismissed."

Sakura bowed and quickly left the room. She had to go and tell Naruto the good news, but then she would have to tell Sasuke. And he would have to understand. She would make damn sure that he did.

She burst through Naruto's door with a smile on her face and Naruto looked up. She had scared him. She laughed at him and ran over to his side.

"Naruto!"

"That's my name," he said while looking at her skeptically.

She wrapped her arms around him, but stayed careful of his broken arm, and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back after a few minutes of shock. He was wondering what in the hell had gotten into her.

"Sakura-chan?" he asked.

She let go of him and said, "If Sasuke answers all of their questions in interrogation, then there will be no need for a trial and he will be put on probation-."

"AWESOME!" Naruto screamed as he pulled her into another bear hug.

"N-Naruto yo-ou're s-squishing m-me…!" she gasped.

He quickly let her go and gave her a sheepish grin.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

She laughed at him and said, "It's okay, but I have to go and tell Sasuke. When Kakashi-sensei comes by to visit, you tell him. Okay?"

He nodded furiously and answered, "Okay, Sakura-chan!"

She gave him a bright smile and exited the room. She made her way down the hall towards Sasuke's room. She walked through the door and was about to announce the good news, but stopped herself. He was fast asleep. Her heart melted at the scene before her. She moved closer to get a better look at his sleeping form. The usual scowl or glare wasn't on his face, but instead, he looked peaceful. She saw some of the young boy that she fell in love with right in front of her.

Before she could stop herself, her hand went to brush some of his bangs out of his eyes. Surprisingly, he leaned into her touch. She gasped and took her hand away. She felt as if his chidori had gone straight through her, but not in a painful way. She gulped and looked at his chart to make sure he was doing okay. And he was.

About an hour and a half later, sitting in the waiting chair doing her paperwork, Sasuke finally stirred awake. He slowly opened his eyes and then they landed on her. The peaceful expression was gone and she wished that it wasn't.

Before he could speak, she said, "I have news."

He looked at her expectantly waiting for her to continue.

"Tsunade-shishou said that if you answer all of the questions in interrogation willingly, then there will be no reason for a trial. But you'll have to be on probation for three months with Anbu watching you at all times."

Instead of responding to the news, he asked, "Why do you call the Hokage that?"

She looked at him in confusion. Did he really have nothing to say about any of the other things she had just told him?

"I'm her apprentice," she answered simply.

"Ahh."

Sakura grumbled and set her paperwork aside. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. Sasuke raised his eyebrow at her. She looked at him expectantly, until she just couldn't take it anymore.

"Will you answer willingly?" she asked exasperatedly.

"You already know the answer, so why ask?"

She glared at him and answered, "I need your consent."

He rolled his eyes and said, "Hn. I will."

She smiled softly at him and went back to doing her paperwork. She could feel his eyes on her, but tried to ignore it. She needed to get all of this finished. She didn't like waiting till the last minute to do something because then it would become all piled up. That was one way that she was not like Tsunade.

"You look like crap."

She froze on what she was currently writing and looked up at Sasuke with an icy glare on her face. He did not just say she looked like crap! She got enough of that from Sai!

"What?" she asked icily.

He repeated it to her like she was a little kid, "You. Look. Like. Crap."

Lucky for him, Kakashi decided to come into the room at that exact moment. Kakashi could feel the tense atmosphere. Most of the negative energy was coming from Sakura.

"So how are my favorite students doing?" he asked.

Sakura picked up her paperwork, stood up, turned away from Sasuke, and faced Kakashi.

"Fine," she answered curtly. She then exited the room and slammed the door on her way out.

Kakashi looked from the cracked door to Sasuke. Kakashi caught the slightly terrified look on his old student's face and the sweat travel down his face. Kakashi decided to whistle to try and make the awkwardness go away, but it didn't work. How surprising.

"So…" Kakashi began.

"She has a temper problem," Sasuke stated.

Kakashi chuckled and asked, "What'd you do?"

Sasuke glared at him and asked, "Why do you think I did something?"

"Because women always get mad for a reason. So go on and tell me what made our dear Sakura so angry."

Sasuke sighed heavily and said, "I told her she looked like crap."

Kakashi flat out laughed at that and Sasuke continued to just glare at his old sensei. He was just stating the obvious. He could tell by the bags from underneath her eyes that she had not been sleeping. He was going to tell her to go home and sleep before she had almost killed him. Hell, even the glare alone had even scared him, a little.

Kakashi ruffled his hair and said, "You've got a lot to learn, Sasuke. And I suggest in the future, don't tell her things like that ever again. If you think someone's ugly or unattractive, then just keep it to yourself. It'll make your life a lot easier. Ask Sai."

"I was just trying to say that she needed to sleep before she turned into a damn zombie," Sasuke stated matter-of-factly.

Kakashi chuckled at his remark. He seemed to be doing a lot of that. This whole situation was apparently very funny to him.

"Who's Sai? Isn't he my replacement or something?"

"He isn't your replacement, Sasuke. He's a member of our team now as well, along with Yamato. Well, anyways, if you want to hear about a good pounding from Sakura just ask him. He calls her ugly on almost a daily basis and still hasn't learned his lesson," Kakashi explained.

"No thanks."

Sasuke inwardly winced as he imagined Sai calling Sakura ugly and her beating the hell out of him. Then he started to feel anger in the pit of his stomach. Why would he call Sakura such a thing? She wasn't ugly, but far from it. Was he blind or something? He sighed to himself, because now he was starting to feel guilty. But if she was stupid enough to think that he was calling her unattractive or something like that, then he shouldn't have to apologize.

Both of them were too stubborn for their own good.

"_**When dreaming with a broken heart, waking up is the hardest part."**_


	4. Chapter 4: Learning How to Apologize

Disclaimer: No ownership of Naruto here you guys.

Sakura suddenly woke up by jumping straight up into a sitting position and a scream escaped from her mouth. She was covered in sweat and there were tears streaming down her face. She calmed her breathing and wiped the sweat and tears from her face. She kicked the sheets off of her legs and went straight to the shower. She took an icy, cold one too. The water felt nice on her scorched skin as she tried to rid her nightmare from her subconscious.

She had been having these nightmares for a while now, but this had been a new one. Instead of dreaming about Sasuke and Naruto's fight or Sasuke leaving the village, she had dreamt about the time when Sasuke had almost killed her. She tried to get that time out of her head.

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and grumbled. She had bags underneath her eyes from doing late night paperwork and taking extra shifts at the hospital. Plus, these nightmares weren't helping matters much either. Her eyes looked lifeless and tired. She sighed and decided that yes, she did look like crap.

She brushed through her short, pink hair and put on a skirt and an old tee-shirt. Her lab coat was here because she had been too tired to put it back in her office before she left the hospital. She put it on and tried to rub the tiredness out of her eyes. She made herself some coffee and poured it into her to-go mug.

The streets in Konoha were dark. As she started to make her way to the hospital, she decided to make a detour. When she reached the bench that Sasuke had left her on, she stopped and stared at it. It seemed like ages ago she had confessed her love to him and he had knocked her out and left the village. Each of them had changed since then. Things were different now. No matter how much she wished it, they would never be able to go back to the way things used to be.

She sighed heavily and walked towards the bench. She caressed its concrete surface and could feel everything that she had felt that night. She could feel all the anger, sadness, and helplessness from all those years ago.

In that moment, Sakura decided that even though it had hurt and she had missed Sasuke to a point that she just couldn't stand it sometimes, she couldn't deny the fact that she liked what it had taught her and made her become. Without intending to, Sasuke had made her into a stronger person physically and emotionally. It was because of him that she was who she was today. And one day, she would thank him for that.

Finally, she walked away from the place where everything had begun to immensely hurt and made her way towards the hospital. She had people to heal now. She had people that needed her. She wasn't helpless anymore.

* * *

"Nice place ya got here, teme."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he continued to look through one of his scrolls. He heard the ding sound coming from the microwave signaling that Naruto's ramen was finished. Well, at least some things don't change.

The slurping came next and he found that really, _really _annoying. Didn't Naruto have anything better to do?

"Once you get off probation we need to have a Team 7 get together at Ichiraku's. It'll be just like old times! Believe it!"

Sasuke continued to ignore his blonde haired teammate as he tried to concentrate on the scroll he was studying.

The slurping finally stopped, signaling that Naruto was finished.

Naruto sighed and thought aloud, "I wonder what Sakura-chan is doing…"

A flash of pink hair and green eyes flashed into Sasuke's mind. He hadn't seen much of her lately. After the whole 'you look like crap' thing, she only came to see him when she needed to check up on his vitals. And unlike Naruto, she had not come to see him before his interrogation. She was ignoring him, he knew that. He had seen plenty of Naruto and Kakashi, and even Sai a couple of times when he came with Naruto. This was annoying. She was annoying.

"She's probably at the hospital. She's always there. She works too much…" Naruto mumbled. Sasuke didn't know if it was meant for him to hear or not.

Sai and Kakashi came through the door. Sasuke didn't even bother to tell them to knock anymore. What was the point if they wouldn't listen anyways? He tried to ignore everyone and concentrate, but it was hard to do with three other people in the room and a certain pink haired kunoichi on his mind.

"Hey, what's up guys?" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke's headache started to get worse. This was all so annoying. If he wasn't on probation then he would have already left. All he could do at the moment was put a scowl on his face and try to block them all out.

Kakashi left soon after without an explanation. Naruto left to go and talk to Sakura. And somehow he was left alone with Sai. He inwardly cursed. They had never been alone before except that one time when Sai claimed he was going to kill him the same day he seen Sakura and Naruto for the first time in three years. This was going to be awkward.

He stood up from his sitting position and made his way to his fridge. He took out a tomato and took a bite out of it when Sai finally spoke.

"Are you gay?"

Sasuke choked on the tomato in his mouth. He spit it out in the trash and asked, "What?"

"I asked you if you were gay. It also stands for homosexual-."

"I know what it means!" Sasuke retorted.

Sai gave him a fake smile and asked, "Then why did you ask-?"

"I'm not gay," he answered with a glare.

Sai nodded and said, "Okay, but I still have to come up with a nickname for you."

"Why?"

Sasuke took another bite into his tomato but chewed very carefully and waited for his response because he didn't want to choke like that again.

"That's what Sakura told me to do. She said that to become closer friends then you should give them a good nickname."

"Hn. Whatever. I don't need one."

Sai headed towards the door and as he stood in the doorway, he said, "See you around, _Sasu-gay_."

He was gone before Sasuke could kill him. Lucky bastard.

* * *

Sakura opened the door to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. All of the flowers inside of it always overwhelmed her. She wondered how Ino was able to stay in here most of the day when she wasn't doing her shinobi duties.

"Hey Forehead," Ino greeted her.

"Pig," Sakura greeted back.

Ino noticed the bags underneath her friend's eyes and instantly became worried.

"You've been working too hard, haven't you?" Ino stated.

Sakura rolled her green eyes and said, "I have to work. If it's not surgeries or regular duties, I have loads of paperwork. I have to get it all done."

Now it was Ino's turn to roll her eyes. She knew that she couldn't persuade Sakura on this subject, so she decided to try a new one.

"So how is Sasuke doing?" Ino asked, trying to act casual.

Sakura shrugged and said, "I wouldn't know. I've been too busy to see him."

"You mean you haven't gone to visit him since he's been on probation?" Ino screeched.

Sakura covered her ears until her best friend was finished screaming.

"Jeez, Ino. Do you have to be so damn loud? I already have a headache."

Ino scoffed at her and said a little more quietly, "It's not just that you're too busy, Sakura. There's something else that you're not telling me."

Sakura sighed heavily and said, "He pissed me off."

Ino looked at her expectantly. Sakura grumbled and finally continued, "He told me I look like crap."

"WHAT?" Ino screeched again.

The pounding in Sakura's head increased tenfold. Even though she was her best friend, she really wanted to hit her right now.

"Be quiet, Ino-pig."

Ino glared at her and said, "I can see why you're pissed, Sakura, but he's back now. You guys put a lot into bringing him home so you can't just ignore him now that he's back. I'm not saying just forgive him completely, just go and see him. That's all. Maybe he'll piss you off again and you can punch him or something."

Sakura looked at Ino in awe and said, "Wow."

"What?"

Sakura laughed and said, "I never knew you could give some good advice like that."

Ino smiled at her proudly and said, "Don't act so shocked! I am Ino Yamanaka!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and headed for the door.

"See ya around, Ino-pig."

"Bye Forehead!"

As soon as Sakura stepped out of the flower shop, she decided that Ino was right. She slowly made her way to Sasuke's new apartment. She was hoping things wouldn't be too awkward.

She hesitantly knocked on his door, but he didn't answer. She grumbled and decided to just barge right in. If he wasn't going to let her in, then she was going to force her way in.

The living room had scrolls sprawled out in the floor and the kitchen was spotless. Where was Sasuke? She knocked on the bathroom door, but he wasn't in there either. Finally, she stood in front of his bedroom. She gulped and knocked on it lightly. Again, nobody answered.

Finally, she just decided to open the damn door. She was surprised to find Sasuke on his bed sweating and looking paler than usual.

She immediately went to his side and felt his forehead. He was burning up. Her heart started to quicken. He groaned in pain when she shook him awake.

"Sasuke-kun? Tell me what hurts."

"My head and throat," he said groggily.

She quickly went back into his kitchen and looked around for the ingredients that she would need. She concocted the medicine that would help with his symptoms and took it into his room with her.

She set it on his bedside table and sat down on the bed beside him. She helped him into a sitting position and had him drink the medicine. He downed it better than she thought he would because she knew that it tasted horrid. He flopped back down on his bed and immediately went back to sleep.

Sakura got a cold cloth and put it on his forehead. He was burning up. She put her hands on his temples and poured healing chakra into him to try and help bring his headache down some more.

He sighed at her touch. She let go of him and sat down in the chair that was in his room. He flopped around in his sleep, like he just couldn't get comfortable. Sakura would get him a new wash cloth every hour and pour some healing chakra into him for his headache.

As she was putting a new wash cloth on his forehead, his eyes opened. She blushed at the intense look in his eyes. Sakura was glad that it was dark in his room. It was the middle of the night by now. She had been here for hours.

"Sakura?"

She looked back down at him and asked, "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" she asked confusedly.

"For saying that you looked like crap."

She smiled warmly at him. Him being sick had made her forget about her being pissed at him. She had forgotten about him saying that completely.

"It's okay, Sasuke-kun."

As she stood back up, she heard him mumble, "I don't think you're ugly…"

She turned around to see that he was already asleep. She smiled and bent down and kissed him on the cheek. It was light and quick, but she still felt that electric shock go through her.

She went back to the chair and stared at Sasuke as he slept. Eventually she fell asleep as well.

When Sakura awoke, she had a kink in her neck. She groaned and remembered the previous night. She looked around the room and saw that Sasuke wasn't in his room. As she started to stand up, she saw that there was a cover over her. She didn't remember covering herself up… Did that mean Sasuke had done it?

She peeled the cover off of her and left his room. She found Sasuke in his kitchen eating a tomato.

He looked at her and she looked at him. Then she remembered what he had said last night. Was that just from being sick, or did he actually mean it? She was too scared to ask.

She also didn't feel as tired as usual. Then it hit her. She was supposed to be at work!

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Noon," he answered.

Her eyes became as big as the tomato he was eating and she shrieked. She was so, so late. She was supposed to be in at four.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" she yelled.

"I just woke up," he answered simply.

She threw her arms up in annoyance and said a few curse words under her breath. She needed to get to the hospital quick. As she was about to start to leave, she remembered that Sasuke was sick. She cursed again.

She walked up to him and felt his forehead. It was a little awkward with the height differences, but he still had a small fever. It wasn't nearly as bad as last night, but it was still a fever.

"Do you still have a headache and a sore throat?" she asked.

"My headache is gone," he answered.

She moved past him and took out the ingredients for the medicine she had made him before. Another dose should do it.

Sasuke watched her as she messed around in his kitchen. It was weird seeing her do such a domestic thing. He was surprised that she was still here to be honest. He figured once he told her what time it was, she would have bolted straight for the hospital. But she was still here in his kitchen, making medicine for him. After everything he had done to her, she still sacrificed things for him. He knew that he didn't deserve it.

Suddenly, she was putting a mug in front of his face. The contents coming from it stunk. He almost gagged. Had he really drank all of that last night?

"Here," she said impatiently.

He took it grudgingly and tried not to smell anything as he took a big drink. It took everything he had not to spit it out and puke. He downed the rest of it and swallowed it as quickly as he could.

Sakura rolled her eyes at him and said, "You didn't seem to hate it that much before."

He scowled at her and she just laughed. He just stared at her. That was the first time since he had left that he heard her laugh like that. It was so angelic and pure. It was a nice thing to hear.

Once she was finished laughing she headed for the door and yelled over her shoulder, "See ya, Sasuke-kun!"

"Thank you, Sakura."

She stopped at the door and turned to him. She gave him one of her breathtaking smiles and said, "You're welcome, Sasuke-kun."

He found himself watching her leave. He stared at the door after she had closed it and realized that her medicine had made him feel better. It was like she was slowly starting to heal him, piece by piece. He really did owe her a lot. For Everything.

"_**I can't make you love me, want me, or understand me. All I can do is hope that someday you will."**_


	5. Chapter 5: Two's a Company

Disclaimer: It all belongs to Misashi Kishimoto, not me.

Even the hot water couldn't get the scent of blood off of her. She didn't know if others could smell it, but she always did. It just never seemed to go away. She always tries desperately to get the smell off, because it reminds her of where the blood came from. And she doesn't want to remember or dwell on that. She hates remembering the faces of all the patients that she's lost, but she does. They haunt her dreams, if she's not too tired to dream at all or if she has nightmares of Sasuke.

Today was just one of those days where she remembered her patients because today she had lost one. It was a young child. Those were always the worst. With her towel she dried off the water and tears and got dressed. She brushed through her hair and headed towards Sasuke's apartment. Naruto wanted all of Team 7 to be there. Yamato wouldn't be there because he was on a mission, but everyone else would be there.

When she walked through the door, Naruto was already slurping ramen and Sai was eating some as well. She could see the other bowls that were in the sink. She shook her head at Naruto's idiocy and smiled at their greetings. It wasn't her normal bright, cheery smile.

Only one person in the room noticed. A pair of onyx eyes narrowed his eyes and wondered what was wrong with her. She didn't seem as cheery as usual. Something was off about his teammate.

Naruto handed her a bowl of ramen and Sasuke also noticed that she barely ate anything. All throughout their dinner, she barely talked or smiled. Even Naruto asked her what was wrong after a while.

"Everything's fine," she said.

When Sai called her ugly, she just gave him an icy glare. Sasuke knew something was wrong after that.

Sai was the first to have to leave, and Naruto followed soon after him. Once they were gone, he watched as Sakura made her way straight to his wine. Before she opened it, she looked at him and asked, "Can I have some?"

He nodded and she quickly opened it. She poured herself a glass. She looked at him and he nodded at her for her to pour him one as well. She handed him his glass and he took it, but not before their fingers brushed against one another.

He felt something weird go through him but it didn't seem like Sakura had been fazed at all. She had already downed her first glass and was onto her second one.

"What's wrong?"

She looked over at him and then back down at her glass.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"You're lying," he said.

She took another drink and said, "You're right, I am."

He continued to stare at her. He waited for her to answer, but she never did. He was starting to become annoyed. Why didn't she want to tell him?

She brought the wine and her glass into his living room and sat down on his couch. He decided to follow her. She was on her fourth glass while he was still on his first.

Sasuke was about to ask her again what was wrong, when she spoke.

"I lost a little boy in surgery today. He's been my patient for three years. He had cancer."

He stared at her. He didn't tell her that everything will be okay or something like that. He doesn't know how to comfort people. He never really learned how to do that. But Sakura seemed content with that. She leaned her head on his shoulder and she sighed.

Before he could do or say anything, she was fast asleep. He relaxed and turned on his TV. He put the volume on low and looked down at Sakura. She was snuggled up against him. Usually he didn't like people in his personal space, but with her he always seemed to make an exception. He took a sniff of her hair and she smelled like strawberries. It was small, but he could smell blood as well.

"_**The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them."**_

_**-Stephen King**_


	6. Chapter 6: Teammates

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

"Are you sure that you want to do this, Sakura?" Tsunade asked her.

Sakura nodded her head as quickly as she could and Tsunade took that as a definite yes.

Tsunade looked her apprentice in the eye and said, "This will be a huge responsibility for you. You will have three lives in your hands, Sakura. Not only will they learn from you, but you will also have to teach them. You will have to teach them and get them ready for the shinobi world. So I'm going to ask you again, are you sure?"

Sakura took in her words and still came up with the exact same answer. She wanted to be a sensei. She wanted to have to look after students and train them into fine shinobi and people. It was a huge responsibility, but she wanted to take it.

"Hai," she answered.

"Okay. This year's students will graduate from the academy in about three and a half months. I suggest you get ready before then. There will be a meeting before then though with all of the potential senseis. I will notify you when that day is."

Sakura nodded at her Hokage and bowed respectively as Tsunade dismissed her.

She smiled widely to herself as she made her way back to the hospital to put in an extra shift. She couldn't believe that she was going to be a sensei. It all seemed surreal to her. As she entered the hospital, she realized that she wouldn't be able to work constantly after she had to teach three genin. She was just going to have to figure something out, she decided.

* * *

As Sai looked for a book on hurt feelings and replacement, he felt a familiar chakra come into the library. He fake smiled at the flash of pink hair and she greeted him warmly in return.

She looked at the books in his hands and looked up at him confusedly.

"Sai?" she questioned.

He looked around and tried to avoid looking her in the eye. Was this embarrassment he was feeling? Well, he had felt it before. It wouldn't be the first time, actually.

"Am I still apart of Team 7? Or am I really just his replacement?"

Her eyes softened as she looked up at him. He couldn't place the emotions that displayed themselves across her face. He knew one thing though, it wasn't pity.

She punched him in the arm, while still wearing that soft expression. By this time he was completely and utterly confused. Women were the most confusing of them all, he noted.

"Of course you're still apart of Team 7! Are you really that stupid?"

"Actually I think I'm quite intelligent."

She rolled her apple green eyes at him and said, "Look, Sai, at first we only saw you as trying to be Sasuke-kun's replacement, but you've earned your own place on our team."

"Besides," she smiled widely at him, "you've become one of my boys too now."

His doubts about not being a part of the team were all gone with that sentence, but some confusion still remained as to why she had hit him. He couldn't help but smile back at her, and this was a real one.

As he watched her make her way to the medical text books, he put the books he was holding away. Maybe Sakura was right, you could learn a lot more from other people than you ever could from a book. Still with that said, he pulled a book about love and family off of the shelf. He could still learn from both, he mused.

* * *

As Naruto made his way to the ramen stand, he was surprised to see Hinata eating there all by herself. He smiled widely at her and made his way to the empty stool beside her. She looked up at him in surprise. He smiled down at her and then ordered his ramen.

"Why are you here by yourself, Hinata?" he asked curiously.

She blushed at the close contact with the love of her life and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. She was thankful when her ramen was put in front of her so she wouldn't have to look at him. It's not that she didn't want to, because she did. It was because of her embarrassment. She had confessed to him and almost died trying to save his life, and he still hasn't said anything about it. She figured that he was just trying to let her down easy.

"I don't know, Naruto-kun," she admitted.

He smiled down at her and said, "Well, you're not alone anymore!"

She smiled at him, all the while her blush becoming more prominent.

He stared at her and all he could think was that she looked so beautiful in that moment. Her creamy, white skin was tinted in pink with a blush and her smile was breathtaking. He couldn't help but grin back. He had not even touched his ramen yet, which was really surprising. She was the only thing that he knew of that could make him forget about ramen even when it was right in front of him.

Throughout the years, she had become one of his precious people. Especially after she had saved his life and told him that she loved him. When Pain had stabbed her and he thought that she was dead, he just completely lost control. He realized soon after that, that he felt the same way. Yeah, he had thought he loved Sakura all those years ago, but it was a sisterly love. Besides, Sakura belonged to someone else. Even someone as dense as himself, knew that.

He looked over at Hinata. She had always been there. She had always believed in him when he thought that everyone despised him. She was even there before he had met Sasuke and Sakura. And when he met her eyes, he knew that she always would.

They continued to eat their ramen in a comfortable silence. Well, besides Naruto's loud slurping that is.

Once they were finished, Hinata was about to pay for her bill, but Naruto stopped her. He gave the shopkeeper the money for both of their bills and turned back to Hinata.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

He grinned at her and said, "It was no problem."

She started to walk away and say goodbye, but Naruto stopped her. She froze at the contact with his skin. He had ahold of her wrist and she could feel her heart pounding a mile a minute. At this rate, he was going to kill her.

"Can I walk you home, Hinata?"

She nodded her head and answered, "S-Sure."

He jumped up in the air and fist-pounded it as well, while Hinata laughed and blushed at him. Then they started to walk towards the Hyuuga compound. When they reached it, Naruto didn't stop himself from saying what he had been waiting to say.

"I love you too, Hinata."

She gasped and looked up at him. His eyes traveled down to her parted lips and soon planted a kiss on her lips. It felt like his heart burst with joy at the contact and his stomach started to flutter.

When he broke away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "Thank you, Naruto-kun!"

He grinned into her hair and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"So does this mean that we're together?" he asked excitedly.

"Y-Yes."

He picked her up and spun her around at her answer, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Neji standing at the doorway. Naruto gulped and reluctantly let go of Hinata.

She smiled at him and whispered, "Goodnight, Naruto-kun."

"Goodnight, Hinata."

"_**They say that time heals a broken heart, but time has stood still since we've been apart."**_


	7. Chapter 7: Probation

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A couple hours of sleep, that's all she asked for. But no, Naruto just had to come and pound on her door right after her shift from the hospital. She was actually going to have a good night's sleep. She cursed under her breath as she heard Naruto barge right into her apartment and straight into her room.

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke is off probation today! Can you believe it?" he bellowed.

Did he not notice that she was trying to sleep? She seriously considered pounding him into next week, but she was too tired to do so.

"And you had to come all the way over here to tell me that?" she asked, annoyed.

He finally took a good look at her and realized that she must be extremely tired and just left her shift.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan! I was just so excited-!"

"It's okay," she interrupted.

He smiled at her and she gave him one in return. She got into a sitting position and patted her bed. He sat down beside her and she said, "Let me guess, you want to have a Team 7 get-together at Ichiraku's."

He grinned at her and said, "You got that right! I've been waiting for this ever since he returned!"

Sakura couldn't help but smile tiredly at how predictable and simple he was. She hoped Naruto knew that things weren't always going to be how they used to be. All of them were different now. They had all grown up and changed.

He sensed her quietness and turned to look at her. She could see the concern in his eyes and waited for him to start on a conversation she wasn't sure she was ready for yet.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan?"

She decided to play the oblivious card and went with, "What are you talking about? I'm fine, Naruto."

He rolled his eyes and said, "Don't lie to me."

She met his gaze and then looked away. He knew her well. He was her best friend. He had been here for her through everything.

"I know that things aren't going to be the exact same as they were before," he put his hand over hers, "but I think that's okay. Maybe it's better this way."

She looked back at him with shock all over her features. He knew exactly what she needed to hear. That's why she loved him so much. He was the brother that she never had.

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. Instead of her telling him that she couldn't breathe, it was the other way around. She laughed as she let go off him and ruffled his hair.

"Thank you, Naruto. For everything."

He ruffled her already bed mused hair in return and said, "You're welcome, Sakura-chan!"

When Sakura got a better look at him, she could tell that there was something different about him, like he was more happy than usual. She couldn't put her finger on it.

"What's got into you? Why are you super happy?" she asked curiously.

Even in the darkness she could see the blush creep onto his face. He scratched the back of his head and looked anywhere but at her. He was hiding something, and now she knew it.

"Naruto?" she questioned.

"Well, the other night I went to eat ramen and ran into Hinata-chan and…. And well….umm…. I told her I love her and kissed her!" he blurted out.

Her eyes started to bulge out of their sockets and then she squealed and wrapped him into another bear hug. This time, when he told her she was squeezing him, she just squeezed tighter. She was so, so happy for him. Hinata was perfect for him. She loved him so much and now the both of them could be happy. They deserved it.

She finally let him go and the color came back to his face. He grinned at her sheepishly.

"I'm so happy for you, Naruto. I've been waiting for you to finally do that! It's about time!"

He blushed and laughed. Then he looked at her.

"I want you to be happy too, Sakura-chan."

He noticed the sadness that came across her face, but it only lasted a fraction of a second. You had to really know her to be able to notice it. She hid it very well. He knew that it must be hard for her. She barely got any sleep, she always worked, and now she had a new stress with black hair and onyx eyes. He really didn't know how she did it. She was so strong and beautiful and smart and she deserved a happy ending. She had _earned_ it. He was not the only one that had brought Sasuke back.

She smiled at him and said, "Thanks, Naruto."

Before he could say anymore, she quickly changed the subject.

"So when are we having this team 7 gathering?"

"Tomorrow, of course!"

She laughed at him and then a yawn escaped her lips. He then quickly stood up and said, "I'm gonna let you get some sleep now, Sakura-chan. Sorry for waking you up."

"It's okay, really."

"Sweet dreams, Sakura-chan!" he bellowed as he exited her apartment.

Yeah, right, like she would ever have a good dream ever again. If she dreamt, it always ended up being a nightmare, even if it started out good. Maybe there was something wrong with her brain or something.

As she lay back down and closed her eyes, she couldn't help but picture his face. His dark bangs were falling into his onyx eyes that seemed to be able to see down to her very core. Some stray hairs fell onto his cheekbones and they seemed so perfect, flawless. His perfect, full lips were forming a smirk. For a long time, she had tried not to picture that face. Sometimes she would, just to make sure that she remembered each and every detail. Now, she did it to add to the old one. His face had changed and matured, yet still stayed the same.

She also found herself thinking about all the horrible things she knew that he had done, and about the ones that she didn't. She finally came to a conclusion. When he had left, he had left behind his heart and soul. Her, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei had kept it safe and preserved. They remembered it and savored it. He knew that if he came back, it would be waiting for him, just like they were. Now that he was back, she wondered, had he found it yet?

* * *

She hadn't expected Sasuke to be sitting in her office once she had gotten out of surgery. She slapped her hand to her forehead at her forgetfulness. Tonight was their get-together and she was late.

"I'm so sorry! I forgot-!"

"Its fine, Sakura."

She sighed heavily and took her lab coat off. She turned back to him and said, "I'm not too late, am I?"

He shook his head and said, "No. Naruto's even late too."

He watched as her face brightened and he saw that she knew something that he didn't.

"He's probably with Hinata or something. We should go ahead and go to Ichiraku's. He'll get there. You and I both know how much he loves ramen."

He nodded and she could see the annoyance in his face. She kind of felt bad. He was off probation finally and now that they were having him a get-together, most of them have forgotten. Kakashi doesn't count because he's always late.

He followed her out of her office and into the streets of Konoha. The sun was just starting to set in the horizon and children were coming home from playing or training. Workers were putting up shop and making their way back to their homes.

As she walked alongside him, she felt so content. Sure, she could hear all the whispers and glares they were giving him. She didn't care though. She had learned to ignore them. They were just people that would never understand. He was her teammate, he was her, everything.

When Sasuke had first left, and Naruto had left for his training with Jiraiya, she would let those people get to her. She could always hear them whispering about her or her team as she made her way throughout the village. More than a couple of times, she had gone off on some of those people. Now, she found it better to just ignore them. They would never be able to understand.

As they both sat down in their seats, she ordered her usual. Sasuke did the same. It was weird not having Naruto here. She had always come with Naruto. That was the only time that she ever came, was with him. She never came on her own, though. She only needed to make that mistake once.

"So how do you like being a free man?" she asked him to break the silence.

If anyone could pull off a look of not rolling their eyes, but rolling their eyes, it was Sasuke Uchiha. It made her smile.

Just when she thought he was about to say something, Kakashi showed up. He sat down in his usual seat and noticed that there was something missing. There was no slurping or a big blonde head doing the slurping.

"Where's Naruto?" he asked.

"Not here," Sasuke deadpanned.

Kakashi rolled his lone eye at him and looked to Sakura to be the reasonable one with all the answers just like he had always done.

"I think that he's with Hinata. He came by my house yesterday and told me about this dinner and about how he and Hinata are… together now," Sakura answered reluctantly.

Sasuke turned to look at her then. Naruto was with Hinata? That shy girl that used to always stutter? When did that happen? Something tugged at his gut as he realized that he really had missed a lot while he was gone. He had to face the fact that things, and people, weren't the same anymore.

"Yeah, I have been waiting for him to finally tell her that he loves her! They're going to be so happy together!" she squealed like a little girl.

Kakashi chuckled at her and said, "I'm glad that he finally opened his eyes and saw that that girl loves him. Hell, everyone could see it except for himself. She used to always faint around him for kami's sake!"

Sakura laughed and said, "Yeah, I know!"

Sasuke was beyond confused at this point. He always thought that Naruto had a crush on Sakura. When did he get over her? He gave Sakura a sideways glance and wondered if she was glad that he did. He saw how close she and Naruto have grown throughout the years and she couldn't possibly still have feelings for him, could she? She showed no signs of it now. She didn't flaunt herself at him like she used to do when they were younger. He didn't know how to understand her behavior.

Shortly after they received their ramen, Naruto finally made an appearance. Sasuke listened as Sakura lectured him and questioned what had taken him so long. Sure enough, his face turned as red as a tomato and said that he had just been busy. They all seen through his excuses and knew that he had been with Hinata, but no one said anything more about it.

"So Sakura," Kakashi started, "how's the hospital?"

She sighed heavily and said, "It's good but we're so low on staff."

"Well, you need to get more so you won't have to work so much, Sakura-chan!" Naruto bellowed.

Sakura laughed at him and said, "Don't be so loud, Naruto."

The rest of the dinner consisted of Naruto and Sasuke's bickering and Sakura's chiding. It was just like old times and all of them were glad that something's never change.

Sakura was the first to get off her seat and say her goodbyes. As she started to make her way to her apartment, she felt someone start to walk with her. She turned around and saw Sasuke.

"I'll walk you home."

She could just feel the blush forming on her cheeks.

"Its okay, Sasuke-kun, you don't have to," she almost whispered.

He gave her a look and said, "Come on, Sakura."

She smiled at him and started walking again. It was silent most of the way, but it wasn't uncomfortable at all. She just couldn't keep the grin off her face the whole way. She was so much happier now that Sasuke was back in her life. Before she had felt like a lifeless robot waiting for something to happen to take her away from the pain. As she looked over at Sasuke, she knew that he was the only one that could.

She was kind of sad when they reached her apartment. She turned to him and said, "Thanks for walking me home, Sasuke-kun."

She met his gaze and she was shocked at how intense it was. She started to feel self-conscious at how his eyes seemed to read right through her. They were so beautiful and she felt herself getting redder.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

She gulped and said, "Goodnight, Sasuke-kun."

He waited to leave until she was safe and inside of her house. Then he started on his way back to his own apartment. Why would she thank him for something so small? She shouldn't thank him for anything. He did not deserve it. He didn't deserve a lot of things, but he somehow had them.

"_**It's hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember."**_


	8. Chapter 8: An Annoyance

Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Naruto.

Her day was like a routine. Every day for a month she has done almost the exact same thing. She woke up. She ate. She went to work. She slept. It was so boring and her limbs twitched to hit something, _anything._ She needed a mission, and she needed one now.

That was her reason for marching over to the Hokage's tower now. She was in such haste, that she didn't even notice that she passed her teammate.

"Sakura."

She stopped and turned. Sasuke was walking towards her. She hadn't seen much of him lately because he was usually on missions. Lucky bastard.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun!" she said cheerily. She had to fight the urge not to hug him.

Once he had reached her, they started walking again.

He smirked at her and asked, "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

She laughed and asked, "Was I really in that much of a hurry?"

He snorted and said, "You looked so determined and you were going so fast that everyone moved aside for you."

She blushed and realized that that must be why she hadn't ran into anyone.

"And you almost barged right into me."

She laughed at him again and he scowled.

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun. It's just that I haven't had a mission in a while and I-."

"I think you have one. I was sent by Tsunade to come and get you."

She looked at him confusedly, but then a smile formed on her lips. This was exactly what she wanted! Yes!

She watched as Sasuke knocked on the Hokage's doors.

"Come in!" she ordered.

Sakura and Sasuke then proceeded to open the doors and go into Tsunade's office. Shizune was there like usual along with loads of paperwork.

Sakura instantly noticed how tired and worn out Tsunade looked and empathized with her. Some of the junior nurses had quit a week ago and that made her have to take extra shifts. Everyone was tired.

Tsunade smiled at her apprentice. She could see how antsy Sakura was. This mission would get rid of that.

"I know you haven't had a mission in a while, and I'm sorry for that-."

"It's okay," Sakura interrupted.

"-I have a new one for you now though," Tsunade said.

Her light brown eyes turned to Sasuke now and she said, "And for you too."

Sakura furrowed her brow and asked, "What do you mean? Is Sasuke-kun going on this mission with me?"

Sasuke looked at the Hokage expectantly as well. He had just gotten back from a mission a couple of days ago. Now she was going to send him on another one?

The Hokage grinned at the two young people in front of her and answered, "Yes, yes he is."

"What's the mission?" Sasuke asked.

Of course Sasuke always gets straight to the point. Sakura smiled and rolled her eyes at him.

Shizune watched them with a curious interest. She mused on how cute a couple they would be. They just fit so well to each other.

"It is an escort mission for a Lord's daughter. You are to take her to the Sound village. Her father's guards will meet you once you reach the village to take over her protection."

Tsunade's eyes traveled back to Sasuke and she said, "That is why you will be good for this mission. You know the Sound Village well."

Sakura watched as Sasuke's jaw tightened. Hers did as well because deep down, her pain of him leaving was still inside her. It was something that she wasn't so sure that would ever go away.

"Her father has enemies so beware any rogue ninja you may come upon. Protect the girl at all costs," Tsunade explained.

Sasuke and Sakura nodded in unison.

"Who are we escorting," Sakura asked.

"Her name is Aiko Genji. She is seventeen years old-."

As if on cue a young seventeen year old girl walked into the room. She was pretty, Sakura noted. She had long, shiny, brown hair and big sky blue eyes. She looked annoyed until her eyes landed on Sasuke. Sakura could swear that she could see the hearts forming in the girl's eyes. Sakura mentally groaned because she knew exactly how this mission was going to go. This girl was going to annoy the hell out of her.

Once the girl was about to squeal, (her mouth was watering) Tsunade spoke up.

Tsunade pointed at Sasuke and Sakura and said, "These are your escorts, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno."

Aiko Genji walked right up to Sasuke and gave him a seductive smile. He didn't seem fazed in the least.

"Hello, Sasuke-_kun. _My name is-."

"I know what your name is," he interrupted with an icy glare on his beautiful face.

The girl didn't seem fazed though as she continued, "Really? Of course you know _my_ name."

This time, Sakura really did groan. All Sasuke was to any girl was a handsome face. They did not know about the pain that was behind his cold demeanor. They did not know that his favorite food was tomatoes. And they definitely didn't know how much pain she and Naruto had gone through to bring him home.

"You'll need to meet at the front gate in fifteen minutes," Tsunade informed them.

Without even glancing at Aiko, he turned to Sakura.

"Better bring a tunic. It rains a lot in Sound."

Sakura rolled her eyes at him and said, "I know, Sasuke-kun. I have been to Sound before."

His eyes narrowed and he asked, "When did you go to Sound?"

Her hands went to her hips and she asked, "Do you think I'm not capable enough to go to Sound on missions?"

Throughout this conversation Aiko had just started to notice Sakura. She had an icy glare fixated on Sakura's petite form.

Now it was Sasuke's turn to roll his eyes at Sakura. Shizune and Tsunade were watching them with amusement. They were quite funny to watch.

"Go get to packing. You're wasting time," Tsunade ordered.

Shizune snorted as a blush formed on both of their cheeks. Both of them used a teleportation jutsu and disappeared.

Aiko watched in amazement, but she was also extremely jealous. That stupid pink haired girl had been talking to _her _Sasuke-kun!

* * *

Aiko waited at the gate impatiently for Sasuke and that stupid girl to show up. That girl, what did she mean to him? She wasn't even pretty, well, she had to keep telling herself that. Her short pink hair was definitely different, but it was unkempt. Her green eyes were dull, and she was too small. Her clothes seemed to swallow her. At least, that's what she saw when she looked at her.

As if on cue, the young pinkette came walking towards her. She looked tired, Aiko noted, probably from trying and failing to win over Sasuke.

Aiko didn't want to acknowledge the stupid girl, but she did want to know where her Sasuke-kun was.

"Where's Sasuke-kun?" Aiko asked with a little bit of ice in her voice.

She watched as Sakura narrowed her eyes at her, but it only lasted a second.

Sakura shrugged and answered, "He's usually not late."

Aiko raised her eyebrows at Sakura and asked rudely, "And how would _you _know?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at Aiko. Aiko noticed that it looked like Sakura thought that it was a lot of work to just put up with her, like she was just an annoyance to Sakura.

"Because she's my teammate," a deep baritone voice said from above.

Aiko looked around frantically for Sasuke, but couldn't find where his voice was coming form. She looked over at Sakura and saw her smiling towards a tree like a complete idiot.

In an instant, he was standing right beside Sakura and Aiko was in awe of his speed. The fact that he was even cooler just made her like him more.

Aiko narrowed her eyes at Sakura when she whispered something into his ear and he grunted in response. Aiko watched as she laughed then. She tried to come up with an insult to Sakura's laugh, but failed. Her laugh was just so real and genuine. Then she noticed the look on Sasuke's face as he watched her laugh. His hard features seemed to soften somehow and a small smile graced his lips. It was so beautiful and even Aiko could tell that it was rare in and of itself.

"_**Do not pray for an easy life. Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one." **_


	9. Chapter 9: New Opponents

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

As Aiko kept blabbering on and on about how she had many admirers, Sakura was almost positive that she was going to explode. The girl never seemed to stop talking and she was just so damn annoying.

Sakura watched as Aiko incessantly talked away to Sasuke. Then she realized something; Aiko annoyed her because Aiko reminded her of herself. She reminded her of how she used to act around Sasuke when she had first started to get to know him. She hadn't been that bad, though, had she? She hoped not.

Sasuke stopped suddenly and Aiko ran into him. He turned around and gave her a death glare. Sakura stopped as well. She too could sense the other chakras "hiding" in the foliage.

Sakura turned to look at Sasuke then, and their eyes met. In that one look, they could read each other. They each knew exactly what the other didn't even have to say.

Aiko looked at the both of them confusedly and asked, "What's-?"

Sasuke put a finger to his lips. The action silenced her. Sakura pulled the girl closer to herself, and Aiko did not like that very much. The grip Sakura had on her was like a death grip though.

"Don't struggle. There are enemy shinobi."

Aiko gulped, but complied with Sakura's wishes and stayed close to her. Sakura looked to Sasuke and noticed that he had his sharingan activated.

"Come out. We know you're there," Sasuke ordered.

As if on cue, two kunoichi's appeared in front of them. The girl on the left eyed Sasuke approvingly, while the other girl stood there stoically.

Sakura noticed that they were rogue ninja. The girls looked practically identical, except their hair was different. Each had raven locks, but the one on the right had short, straight black hair. The one on the left had long, wavy, black hair. Sakura figured they just had to be twins.

"Who are you?" Sakura demanded as she drew a kunai.

The wavy haired girl narrowed her eyes at Sakura and answered, "I am Nari."

She pointed at the girl beside her and said, "And this is my sister, Amaya."

The quiet girl, Amaya, now spoke, "And you are Sakura Haruno and your partner is Sasuke Uchiha. The girl you are protecting is Aiko Genji."

Nari grinned and said, "Yeah, and if you give her up, we won't have to hurt anyone."

Her eyes drifted to Sasuke and said, "Well, especially not you…"

Sakura growled and was about to lunge at the enemy, but Sasuke beat her to it. He had his katana unsheathed and his chidori was going through the blade and surrounding it.

Sakura glanced back at Aiko and could see her trembling in fear. Sakura tightened her fist and looked to Amaya. Sakura threw her kunai at her. The said girl blocked Sakura's kunai and turned her cold dark eyes on her.

"Stay close to me," Sakura whispered to Aiko.

Aiko nodded numbly. Sakura glanced at Sasuke and saw that he was already engaged in a battle with Nari. She wasn't using her left arm, and she had shoulder wound. Sasuke must have landed a hit on her.

Sakura felt senbon coming at her, well, actually they were aimed at both Aiko and her. Sakura grabbed Aiko and jumped out of the way, but not before a couple of the senbon lodged themselves in Sakura's left arm. She cursed her stupidity. You never take your eyes off the enemy.

"Are you alright?" Sakura asked Aiko.

Aiko nodded and then her eyes traveled to the senbon in Sakura's arm.

"You're injured…"

Sakura shook her head and deftly took the senbon out and healed the wounds as she did so.

Sakura then turned her full attention to the enemy and glared. Her apple green eyes met Amaya's dark ones. Since Amaya had used senbon, Sakura needed to keep in mind that her enemy could be a medic-nin like herself.

Sakura focused chakra into her fists and ran at her. Right when she was about to land a direct hit, Amaya disappeared. Something wet fell on her cheek. It was raining.

Sakura tried to sense Amaya's chakra, but she was nowhere. It was now raining so hard that she was soaked to the bone. She quickly ran back to Aiko's side.

She continued to try and find Amaya, but it was to no avail.

Sasuke's sharingan eyes watched Nari carefully. She was low on chakra, and he knew it. Blood poured out of her mouth as he landed another blow on her.

Nari jumped back and called for her sister. Suddenly, the rain stopped and Amaya was standing beside her sister.

They watched the twins in confusion as Nari whispered something in Amaya's ear.

Nari grinned at them and said, "We'll be seeing you again soon."

Then they just disappeared.

Sasuke walked back over to Sakura and Aiko.

"Are you alright, Sakura?"

Aiko noticed the concern in his voice and felt a pang of jealousy. She looked over at Sakura. Sakura had saved her life. Aiko just couldn't bring herself to hate her now.

Sakura nodded and asked, "What about you, Sasuke-kun?"

"I'm fine."

Sakura glared at him and walked right up to him until she was standing right in front of him.

"Take off your shirt."

Aiko gaped at her and was about to say something, but Sasuke beat her to it.

"Sakura."

"_Now. _I know you're injured. It's pointless to try and hide it from me."

He sighed heavily and did what he was told. There was no hiding anything from her trained eyes.

Aiko's mouth was still open from before, but now she was drooling as well. Even Sakura couldn't help but stare at his hard, toned chest and abs. She could see all the beautiful, toned muscles and then realized she had been staring a little bit too long.

He smirked at her and she flushed crimson. She tried to ignore his gaze on her as she started to heal his fractured ribs. She felt relieved when she felt his intense gaze leave her petite form.

Nari must have landed a blow on him. Aiko watched as Sasuke closed his eyes in relief once Sakura started to heal him. She was amazed at the green chakra coming out of Sakura's small hands. Aiko wondered what it would be like to be that close to Sasuke Uchiha, and not be pushed away…

* * *

"I have to sleep on the ground?" Aiko shrieked.

Sakura rolled her eyes and answered exasperatedly, "Yes."

Aiko glared at her and reluctantly crawled into her sleeping bag. Sakura put another piece of wood on the fire.

Her apple green eyes looked towards Sasuke and asked, "Are you sure you want to take the first watch?"

He rolled his eyes at her and said, "Yes, Sakura."

"You're stubborn."

He scoffed and said, "You're one to talk."

A smile tugged at her lips.

"How much longer until we get there?" Aiko asked.

"Two days," Sakura answered.

"Are we going to sleep on the ground every night?"

"Probably," Sakura said.

Aiko groaned and then her stomach rumbled indicating that she was hungry.

Sakura then dug around in her pack and pulled out a ramen cup. Sasuke smirked at that.

"Do you like ramen?" Sakura asked.

Aiko nodded and Sakura then proceeded to cook the ramen for her. Aiko ate it like she was starving or something. She looked over at Sakura and said, "Thank you."

Sakura knew that she was saying thanks for more than just the ramen. Maybe this girl wouldn't be so bad after all…

"You're welcome."

Aiko fell asleep soon after that. Sakura laid down in her sleeping bag as well to get some sleep.

"Goodnight, Sasuke-kun."

She couldn't see it, but he smiled.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

She grinned and closed her eyes. Sleep soon found its way to her and she started to dream of a certain onyx eyed teammate.

Sasuke's attention was drawn to Sakura because she was mumbling in her sleep. He bent down beside her and watched her. Her beautiful face was peaceful one minute, but then the next, she was crying. What was she dreaming about? Sasuke couldn't help but wonder.

"Sasuke-kun…!" she said in her sleep.

He furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes. The dream was about him? And she was crying?

More tears flowed out of her closed eyes and her tiny hands gripped her blanket.

"…Please don't leave me…"

His jaw tightened and he stroked her face. Her skin was just as soft as it looked.

He wiped away her tears and answered without her knowledge, "I won't, Sakura."

"_**If you don't live for something then you'll die for nothing."**_

* * *

**Thank you guys for the reviews! It really means a lot to me! **


	10. Chapter 10: Weaknesses

Disclaimer: DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

Sakura just couldn't get Nari and Amaya out of her head. The two twins said that they would come back for them. They had not gotten to fight for very long before they had retreated. And that rain that had appeared once Amaya disappeared and then stopped when she reappeared just didn't sit right with Sakura. Something had been off. Sakura knew that they had retreated because of the wounds Sasuke had inflicted on Nari. But she just couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if the fight had continued instead of being interrupted. She couldn't decide for sure if Amaya was a medic-nin or not yet.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun?" she finally spoke up.

He inclined his head towards her, signaling that he was listening to her.

"I think that there was something off with that rain from yesterday during our battle."

He seemed to take in her words for a moment, and then replied, "Do you think that that girl has some special jutsu?"

Sakura nodded and said, "Yes, I do. I suspect that she has medical training as well… but I'm not for sure yet."

Sasuke watched as she bit her bottom lip and furrowed her brow in concentration. She did that a lot and he didn't think that she even noticed that she did it. Sometimes she would even bite her finger when she was really concentrating. He found it amusing.

Aiko watched them curiously and listened in on their conversation. She was still terrified from the battle that had occurred yesterday. She gazed at the two shinobi in front of her and couldn't help but wonder if they were scared. If they even became frightened at all. They sure didn't show it at all. Maybe shinobi had no fear, Aiko mused.

"….What do you think, Sasuke-kun?"

Aiko had missed some of the conversation because of her thinking. She listened more closely now.

Sasuke's face remained stoic as always and he answered, "I think that you're right, but next time let me deal with the quiet one."

Aiko watched as Sakura's face started to become red with anger. She couldn't understand why Sakura was getting angry over what Sasuke had just said.

Sakura crossed her arms and said, "No, Sasuke. I will handle her."

Both Aiko and Sasuke looked at her because of her lack of using the ever-present suffix.

"You're better matched with the one that I fought, Sakura."

Sakura didn't look at him as she asked icily, "Why? Because she's weaker?"

Aiko gulped and felt the hairs on her body stand up. Right now, she felt as safe as she did in the battle from yesterday. Sasuke didn't seem fazed in the least.

Sakura stopped and so did the others in return. She then turned towards Sasuke and said, "Why don't you just come out and say it, huh? You still think that I'm weak and annoying! I've grown stronger and even your precise sharingan eyes cannot even see it! Well, I got news for you Sasuke! I'm not the same girl that you left behind all those years ago! I've changed!"

Aiko watched the whole exchange in shock. There was so much venom in Sakura's voice that it scared her. Even she, who didn't even know Sakura very well, could hear the hurt that was behind the rage. She looked between the two and could sense so much history there. What had happened?

Sasuke gritted his teeth and met her intense gaze. If he would have been a different man, he would probably have been scared or had some kind of reaction. But of course, he was Sasuke Uchiha. He was starting to get angry as well because she had twisted his words around. He never called her weak, but she was being annoying right at this moment. He could just feel all of her anger and hurt seeping into his pours and he could see it for himself right in her green depths.

It wasn't like he was trying to hurt her or anything… Last time she had gotten hurt fighting that girl, so he didn't want that to happen again. She just would be safer fighting the other one. Why couldn't she just understand that he was trying to protect her for kami's sake?

"Annoying…" he finally said.

Sakura raised her fist to punch him, but instead she was hit in the side with a kunai. She was in too much shock to scream. She just gasped. Aiko did scream though. But Sasuke sprang into action. He went to catch her before she fell and she fell into his arms.

She pushed him away and stood on her own. She held onto her injured side and yelled at Sasuke, "Protect Aiko! I can handle myself!"

He drew his katana and blocked a kunai that was going straight for Aiko. He could sense only one chakra. How had he not sensed it earlier? He glanced at Sakura and she was healing her injury. He cursed himself for being so caught up with fighting with Sakura not to notice the enemy.

He could feel rain falling on him now. He looked at Sakura and saw her running at the chakra signature that they both had sensed. He could hear her yell and then the ground shook beneath him. Aiko clung to the back of his shirt and he tensed.

All of a sudden, he felt his limbs go completely limp and he fell to his knees on the ground. That's when Aiko screamed. The rain was pouring even harder now and they were soaked to the bone. Aiko looked at Sasuke and saw that his sharingan was no longer activated and his eyes looked glazed over, like they weren't really looking at the surroundings that were in front of him. Now she was really starting to let the terror of her situation start to sink in.

* * *

In the midst of a punch, Sakura heard the scream. She knew that it was Aiko's. She cursed and Nari landed a blow on her. Sakura flew back and hit a tree. She could feel a couple of her ribs break. She started to heal her wounds as she stood back up and glanced in the direction of Aiko and Sasuke. She saw that Sasuke was sitting on his knees and not moving. Something was wrong. He was in a genjutsu, but how could his sharingan missed it?

Nari chuckled and Sakura turned her attention back to her reluctantly. She fixed a glare on her enemies form and waited for her next move.

"Worried about pretty boy over there?"

Sakura's glare hardened, if that was even possible. Nari didn't seem to notice though. She blew some wavy, black strands of hair out of her face and grinned even wider.

"If I were you, little girl, then I would be worried less about _him, _and more about yourself," Aiko said as she went for another attack at Sakura.

Sakura was about to counter Nari's attack, but she was struck by some kind of jolt of electricity. It shocked her so bad that it knocked her unconscious to the ground below. Nari grinned evilly.

* * *

Sasuke was completely surrounded in darkness. He looked around, but he could not see anything. He tried to scream out loud in frustration, but nothing came out of his lungs. He tried to move, but that didn't work either. He was in a genjutsu, he knew that much. What he didn't know is how he didn't notice it earlier. His sharingan should have noticed it right away. The only thing he could do was curse to himself.

Just when he was going to release himself from the genjutsu, he saw a light in the distance. This time, when he tried to move, he could. He walked towards the light and he was shocked to see who it was when he reached it.

It was a younger version of Sakura. She was crying. When he went to move towards her, he stopped because he saw a younger version of himself walk up towards her. Now that he looked closer, he remembered this day. This had been the first day that he had met Sakura.

Suddenly, he was seeing everything through his younger self. He looked down at her small form that was sobbing. She had her head in her hands and her pink hair was a mess. His keen eyes caught some bruises on her arms.

"Why are you crying?" he felt himself ask.

She tensed and reluctantly looked up at him. He gasped because of her beauty. Her big, apple green eyes were filled with tears. Her heart-shaped face was framed by those pastel pink locks, and her cheeks were stained with tears.

"B-Because they k-keep m-making fun o-of m-me…" she sobbed.

Now he knew where those bruises came from. Who would want to hurt someone like her, or make fun of her? It didn't make sense to him.

"Why do they make fun of you?" he asked.

She sniffled and answered, "B-Because of my f-forehead...they think that it's b-big."

His dark eyes were instantly drawn to the object and he couldn't really tell if it was or not because her hair was covering it. His now small hand was moving the hair out of her face and revealing her forehead before he could even stop himself. He examined it and he looked down at her.

Their eyes instantly met and he felt a jolt go through him. A blush formed on both of their faces and he instantly looked away and took his hand away.

He didn't look at her as he said, "It's not that big, so stop crying."

Her cute face instantly broke out into a smile. He found himself watching how utterly breathtaking it looked. Only one person he knew smiled like that: his mother. It was extremely hard for him to not return one.

The younger Sakura stood up and she bowed in front of him.

She stood back up and greeted cheerily like she hadn't just been crying, "My name is Sakura. Sakura Haruno."

He nodded at her and said in return, "Sasuke Uchiha."

The smile never left her face and he studied it. Her smile was almost the same, except now she sometimes faked it. When she smiled, it was like you could feel all the happiness that she is feeling. This, in turn, made you want to smile as well.

This was the day that he had started to protect her. This was their beginning. She was about to say something to him, but he was sprung back into the darkness. He then proceeded to release the genjutsu from himself and found himself back inside his own body.

He activated his sharingan and stood to his feet as fast as he possibly could. He was still weak from the genjutsu he had just been in. The rain was now gone and he could not sense the enemy anywhere. Aiko was beside him.

His heart stopped when he realized that he could not sense Sakura's chakra as well.

He looked around frantically but he could not find her. He turned to Aiko and asked, "Where is Sakura?"

Aiko's eyes were wide open in fear and she shook her head.

She gulped and mumbled, "I don't know…."

"Dammit!" he yelled.

Sasuke tried in vain again to locate her chakra signature. She was not here. They had kidnapped her. He let out a few more cuss words and started to pace back and forth. How could he let this happen?

Aiko watched him. She could see the worry all over his usually emotionless face. She felt a pang in her chest because she knew that he cared for Sakura. It was so evident. She wondered if Sakura knew….

* * *

Sakura groggily opened her eyes and instantly regretted it. She groaned and tried to open them gain. She felt a pain in her ribs and it was getting hard for her to breathe. She had a punctured lung. _'Dammit'_, she cursed to herself.

She couldn't move. Both her feet and hands were bound by chains that restricted her chakra. She looked around and saw that she was in an old abandoned room of some sort. There wasn't a bed or anything. It was just bare. She was also alone.

She tried to break free, but it just made it even harder for her to breathe. She didn't have any chakra because of the chains.

She heard footsteps coming towards the room she was in. Soon enough, the door was opened and in came a large man and Nari. Sakura glared at them icily.

The man looked at her approvingly and said, "Well, she sure is a pretty one…"

Nari rolled her eyes and said, "Don't let her looks deceive you. She is a kunoichi."

"Where am I? What happened?" Sakura asked.

Nari grinned at her and said, "My lightning hit you, and you are in a place that nobody will ever be able to find you. Unless we want them to…"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at her. So the girl had used some kind of jutsu on her? What about Sasuke and Aiko? Were they okay?

Nari seemed to read her mind because she said, "Don't worry… we haven't done anything to them…yet."

Her punctured lung and talking made her start to gasp for air. Her chest was hurting and she knew that this would kill her. She could be lucky and it takes the collapsed lung to kill her in a couple of days, but it will most likely take a few hours. She needed to heal herself.

The big man looked at her and said, "We want Aiko Genji. I have issues with her father."

Sakura barely heard him because she was trying to breathe. Sasuke's face instantly flashed into her mind's eye. She inwardly hoped that he would come to her rescue. She needed him. She needed him to save her.

Nari cracked her knuckles and said, "Now tell us everything that we need to know, or you die."

Sakura gritted her teeth and decided that she was fucking screwed.

"_**Hate isn't the opposite of love. Indifference is the opposite of love because if you hate, you still care."**_

* * *

So sorry that it took longer than usual to update! I've just started school again and I was (and am) really busy.

I hope you enjoy! And thank you for the reviews! :)


	11. Chapter 11: Time Limit!

**Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say it? I don't own Naruto!**

* * *

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he desperately tried to come up with a strategy. They had taken Sakura, and he didn't know what he would do if something happened to her. He could not even think about that. But he also wanted to prepare himself for the worst. He wanted to scream out in frustration.

He let out a breath and calmed himself down. Obviously they had taken Sakura because they wanted a trade. They wanted the girl. His dark eyes glanced at the girl beside him. His mission was to take her to Sound. His orders specifically told him to protect her at all costs, but how could he protect her when Sakura's life was at stake?

"Dammit!" he cursed to himself.

Aiko gulped as she watched him. He looked like he was going crazy. She was scared and was also surprisingly worried about Sakura. Sakura had risked her life for Aiko's on more than one occasion. She owed Sakura her life.

Amaya appeared in the clearing and Sasuke instantly went into defense mode. Aiko hid behind him. She was terrified of that girl. She had put Sasuke to his knees last time.

"Where is Sakura?!" he demanded.

Amaya just stared at him emotionlessly and finally said, "We want the girl. Your comrade will die in just four hours if you do not corporate."

His hands balled into fists and his jaw clenched. His raven locks fell into his onyx eyes as he tried to decide on what to do. He had to save Sakura and that was final. Naruto and everyone else would be beyond furious and sad. A lot of people depended on her. He had to do it.

Amaya became tired of waiting.

"North of here is an old building. It will have guards around it. Come if you want to save that girl," she looked to Amaya, "and bring her as a trade."

Then she was gone. Sasuke punched a tree and creaked from the impact and eventually fell over. Aiko jumped and gulped nervously. She had been selfish for most of her life. It was about time, she decided, that she stopped that.

"Let's go," she finally said, "Sakura doesn't have a lot of time."

He froze at her words and turned to look at her. Suddenly an idea formed inside his head and it felt like a light bulb had just dinged at the top of his head. Aiko noticed this and wondered what he was thinking.

He stood in front of her and said, "You are going to do exactly what I say, or it will not work."

Aiko nodded quickly and he continued, "I will use a jutsu and turn me into you, and you into me. You have to act exactly like me, understand?"

She nodded again.

"Okay. I don't know if they will meet us outside or we might have to go on the inside. Either way, just stick by me and everything will be okay," he explained.

Aiko nodded curtly. His words were reassuring and it made her feel better. He knew what he was doing. She just had to listen to what he said.

He bent down beside her and said, "Get on. It will be much faster. Sakura doesn't have a lot of time."

She blushed furiously and climbed onto his back. When his hands held her there so she wouldn't fall, she felt like she was on cloud nine. He smelled so nice. He took off instantly in the direction that he was told. She wondered if his feet were even touching the ground. He was going that fast.

"When we get close enough, I will perform the jutsu. Got it?"

"O-Okay…"

* * *

Blood flowed out of her mouth and she didn't even have the energy to wipe it away anymore. She could hardly breathe, and when she did, it hurt like hell. She looked up at her captor's face, but could only see out of one of her eyes. The other was closed shut and purple from bruising.

Nari sighed heavily and said, "You sure are a stubborn one…"

In the beginning of her torture, she would have said a sarcastic remark to that, but she just did not have the energy anymore. She didn't have the energy to stay awake, yet here she was.

All of her friends' and family's faces flashed into her mind. They were the reason she could not give up. She was so tired though…

Her last conversation with Sasuke came into her mind for some unknown reason.

"_Why don't you just come out and say it, huh? You still think that I'm weak and annoying! I've grown stronger and even your precise sharingan eyes cannot even see it! Well, I got news for you Sasuke! I'm not the same girl that you left behind all those years ago! I've changed!"_

She had to prove to Sasuke that she wasn't weak anymore. She had to prove that what she had said was true. She gritted her teeth.

Nari noticed the change in her and bent down in front of her. Sakura took this as her chance to head butt Nari in the face. Sakura heard a crack and Nari fell to the ground in pain. Sakura grinned. She had broken her nose.

Sakura used her knees to lunge at Nari. She landed on top of her. Nari's elbow hit her sensitive stomach and Sakura gasped. She could not breathe. She coughed and blood came out of her mouth.

Nari threw her off of her and Sakura hit the ground with a thud. Nari slowly stood up and yelled, "You _bitch!_"

Her nose was bleeding and it hurt like hell. She kicked Sakura and she gripped her stomach in pain.

Nari grinned at her and said, "Nice try, but I think that just shortened your time limit."

With that, Nari left Sakura bleeding on the floor and went to go and fix her damn nose.

* * *

Aiko looked at Sasuke, which was now her. It felt weird looking at herself, even though she was actually looking at him.

"This is so weird," she said. She jumped because her voice was not her own anymore. She has his.

He looked off into the distance, no doubt thinking about Sakura. Using now dark eyes, she decided to compare herself to Sakura. Her long, brown hair was shiny and had a little wave to it. Sakura has short, straight pink hair. She wondered if Sakura ever had her hair long… Would it look better that way? Did Sasuke like girls with short or long hair? What was his type? She looked at her sky blue eyes that she had received many compliments from, and couldn't help but think that they were nothing compared to Sakura's apple green eyes. Her tan skin glistened in the sun. Sakura had pale skin, which was flawless. They were both about the same height, but she was more filled out than Sakura was. Who was more beautiful, her or Sakura?

"Remember, act like me," he reminded her.

She nodded and they both started walking towards Sakura's location. It took about another ten minutes, and they could see it. The guards were outside.

Sasuke stopped and she stopped with him. He looked over at her and said, "We have to make this look real. Once they give Sakura over to you, and they take me, you leave. Got it?"

She furrowed her brow and asked, "But what about you?"

He shook his head and said, "You and Sakura need to get out and I can handle myself. You have to follow the plan, no matter what."

She nodded reluctantly and he looked at her expectantly. Oh right, she needed to lead the way. That's what Sasuke would do. He followed behind her. Once they entered the clearing, one of the guards disappeared inside.

Aiko looked back at Sasuke and he nodded at her for reassurance. She let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding. Then she gulped. She was so afraid, but she had to hide it. From what she knew, Sasuke doesn't show fear. She had to act like him, or the plan would not work.

Finally, they came out of the building. Amaya came first along with a large ugly man. Then Nari came out pushing a beaten and bloody Sakura. Aiko's heart was pounding a mile a minute, but she was keeping her cool. Sasuke wanted to run up and get her the moment that he saw her. He made his new, temporary face look terrified and waited so that the plan would not fall apart. He needed to get them safely out of here.

The enemy and Sakura stopped about ten feet away from Sasuke and Aiko. Sasuke looked at Sakura, and she finally looked up at them. One of her eyes was closed shut, while the other looked extremely tired. Her breathing was ragged and her hair was matted with blood. There was also a blood stain on her chin.

The big man looked at Aiko (which was actually Sasuke) and grinned evilly. Sasuke made himself look really terrified now.

"So you decided to be smart," the man said.

Aiko nodded and decided to say, "Are you going to trade now?"

The man chuckled and said, "You are an impatient one."

Aiko didn't say anything after that. She decided to wait expectantly. Nari gripped Sakura's arm and made her stand up. Sakura did reluctantly and Aiko grabbed Sasuke's arm. She felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest.

Nari gave the key to Sakura's chains to Aiko/Sasuke. Aiko shoved Sasuke/Aiko to them. The man smiled at them and said, "Nice doing business with you."

Aiko nodded curtly and quickly got the chains off of her. She then proceeded to pick her up. Sakura looked at her confusedly. Aiko looked over at Sasuke and he silently nodded at her.

Aiko then took off running away from Sasuke and those horrible people. The farther she got, the heavier Sakura became. She was not nearly as strong as Sasuke.

Sakura's strength and chakra was slowly coming back to her, and she decided to start healing herself. She tugged on his shirt and said, "Put me down so I can heal myself."

"O-Okay…"

Sakura's hand instantly went to her stomach and Aiko watched as Sakura's hand started to glow green.

Once Sakura was finished, she said, "So this was Sasuke's plan."

* * *

Sasuke knew that once he decided to strike, he would have surprise on his side. So, he needed to strike the one that would prove the most difficult, which was Amaya. He looked behind him and was thankful that Sakura was now safe and away from here.

While they weren't looking, he quickly released the jutsu and instantly had the chidori going through his hand. Amaya jumped out of the way at the last second, so he hit Nari instead. The big man ran away in fear and confusion. The guards started to swarm him.

He watched as the life left Nari's eyes and she fell to the ground lifelessly. He was mad that he hadn't killed the other one, but at least he had gotten one of them. He unsheathed his katana and started to slice through the guards who proved to be weaklings.

When it started to rain, he knew that he had his work cut out for him. He needed to make sure that he didn't fall into another genjutsu again. He wondered how he had even fallen into one last time. It didn't make any sense to him.

He activated his sharingan and tried to locate her, but she was nowhere. This situation kind of reminded him of Haku. Haku had hidden inside the frozen mirrors. Did that mean that Amaya was hidden somewhere in the rain…

The rain touching him, that's what had caused it! He was already starting to become soaked. He smirked and released the genjutsu. The rain disappeared and Amaya was now where she had once been, but now with a glare on her face.

"So you figured it out," she said, "you're a clever one."

His smirk widened and he went at her. She dodged his katana and couldn't help it when her eyes landed on her sister's dead body. Sasuke impaled her with his katana and she turned into a puddle of water.

'_A clone!'_ he thought furiously.

He gasped when her sword went through his abdomen. Blood trickled out of his mouth and down his chin. He was in too much shock to really notice that the rain was back before everything went black.

* * *

"Stay here," Sakura ordered.

"B-But Sasuke-kun told me that we have to get away from here-!" Aiko started.

Sakura turned to her and yelled, "I don't care what he said! I'm going to help him! You stay here where it's safe and we'll come back soon."

Tears pricked Aiko's eyes and they soon cascaded down her cheeks. She was so scared and she felt like this was her whole fault. They both had risked their lives for her, and she had not even done anything.

Sakura softened when she noticed those familiar tears.

"Look, we will be back. Don't worry."

Aiko looked up at her and sniffled.

"Sasuke-kun wants you to be safe, Sakura. He cares about you."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock and she shook her head. Sasuke doesn't care about her. He never has.

"He does," Aiko repeated.

Sakura's jaw clenched and she started to walk away and back towards where Sasuke is and the enemy.

Before she took off, Aiko said, "Be safe, Sakura."

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes to see blood everywhere. He decided to follow the trail and he was not prepared for what it led to. Sakura lay there all bloody and lifeless. Her beautiful eyes were closed and she was dead. He would never be able hear her sweet voice again or see her smile.

He fell down to his knees beside her in despair. What is he going to do now? He held her against his chest. His grip on her was tight and he would never let go. His dark eyes reluctantly looked around him, and then he seen more dead bodies.

Among them were Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, and many others.

He was alone. Everyone that was precious was gone.

* * *

Sakura punched a guard that was in her way and then she saw it. Amaya held a sword that was going through Sasuke. She gasped and ran towards them. Amaya saw her coming and pulled the sword out of Sasuke.

"Ahhh!" Sakura screamed as she ran after Amaya.

Sakura could hear Sasuke groan in pain. He would die if she didn't get to him soon. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute. She turned back to Amaya and glared at her.

Amaya seemed to be panting and out of breath. So her jutsu must take a lot out of her…? She didn't have time do anything before Sakura punched her. She flew back and hit a tree. Before she could even stand up, Sakura was already hitting her again. The tree crumbled and Amaya was flying through the air again.

Sakura met her in the air and used her enhanced fist to punch her back towards the hard ground. The ground crumbled when she hit it too. Sakura wasn't finished yet though. She was beyond angry.

She walked over to Amaya and stood beside her. She felt for a pulse, and found none. Her eyes instantly went to Sasuke's limp form.

She ran to him and instantly began to heal the wound that Amaya had inflicted on him. Sweat went down her face as she worked hard to get the very important job finished. She bandaged him carefully and checked for any more injuries.

"Sakura….?"

Her eyes met his and relief took over her features. He looked at her confusedly. That must have been a genjutsu he had been in earlier, because she was clearly not dead. What was she doing here though?

"You're going to be okay, Sasuke-kun."

His dark eyes watched as tears spilled out of her eyes and some fell on his face. She was crying for him? She bit her lip and wiped them away.

"You're an idiot. I thought that you were…"

So he still meant something to her after all? She had been worried about him. She was about to get up, but he grabbed her hand.

"Thank you, Sakura. I would be dead if it wasn't for you."

A smile broke out onto her face. She had proved that she wasn't weak anymore and he didn't think that she was. She felt accepted, finally.

* * *

"Thank you," Aiko told Sasuke and Sakura when they reached the Sound Village and the guards were waiting for her.

Sakura smiled at her and Sasuke just nodded. Man, was she going to miss that face!

When Aiko shook hands with Sakura, she whispered, "You had better take care of Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura just rolled her eyes at her and couldn't believe that she might actually miss this annoying girl.

Sasuke and Sakura then started on their way back home and waved goodbye to Aiko.

"Wanna race, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked with a grin on her face.

Before he could say anything, she was already taking off and beating him.

"That's cheating Sakura!" he yelled after her.

All you could hear in the quiet forest was her happy laughter.

"_**Real strength is not what you have when fighting for only yourself. When you have something special that you want to protect, only then can you become truly strong!"**_

_**-Naruto Uzumaki **_

* * *

**I'm thankful for the reviews and they really make my day! Please keep it up! :))**


	12. Chapter 12: I'll Always Be Here

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! **

As Sasuke made his way to Sakura's office, he could feel all the stares on him. It was really quite annoying. No doubt they were coming up with ridiculous rumors. He didn't care though. At least, he tried not to.

When he opened the door to her office, he found her sleeping. Drool was getting on the unfinished paperwork and he almost laughed. It was a pretty comical sight. He cleared his throat and she instantly jumped up. Now he could not help but chuckle.

She looked up at him confusedly and asked, "Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here?"

He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. She looked tired, he noted. Naruto is right; she does overwork herself too much. He shook his head.

"I was sent to come and get you for dinner at Ichiraku's," he answered simply.

She was about to answer, but a yawn escaped her lips instead. She needed to get some sleep. She always tells others to stay healthy and she lectures them for not doing so, yet she does not even take her own advice.

"But I will tell them that you cancel because you're tired."

She instantly shook her head and said, "No, I'm coming."

His eyes narrowed and he said, "Sakura, you need to sleep."

"I'm fine, Sasuke-kun."

Before he could reply that she was not indeed fine, a young man that looked like their age appeared in the doorway. He had short brown hair and dark brown eyes. He would be considered a catch to most girls. Sasuke glared at him.

Sakura smiled at him and said, "Goro-kun!"

He came into the room and Sasuke saw the blush that was on his cheeks. Who was this guy? How did Sakura know him? He just continued to glare at said boy.

Sakura stood up and pointed at Sasuke. "This is Sasuke Uchiha."

She pointed at Goro and told Sasuke, "This is Goro Arato."

Goro put his hand out for Sasuke to shake, but Sasuke did no such thing. Now things really started to get awkward. Sakura gave Sasuke the what-is-your-problem look. He just stood there impassively.

"So what's up, Goro-kun?" she asked him finally.

Goro put his hand back down at his side and answered, "Tsunade-sama wanted me to tell you that the meeting will be tomorrow at noon."

Sakura smiled at him and said, "Oh, really? Well, thank you for letting me know."

He grinned at her and she blushed.

"I'll see you then, Sakura-chan."

He turned to Sasuke and said, "It was nice meeting you, Uchiha-san."

"Hn."

As soon as he was gone, Sasuke asked, "What meeting?"

"Is everyone already at Ichiraku's?"

He scowled at her and said, "Sakura."

She groaned and said, "It's for all the potential senseis."

He looked at her confusedly. Sense when had she wanted to be a sensei? Why didn't anyone else know about this? He kind of felt hurt that she hadn't spoken about it.

"You're going to be a sensei?" he asked finally.

She nodded and answered, "Yes, I would like to."

"You know you won't be able to work constantly at the hospital if you do that, right?"

She rolled her eyes at him and said, "Yes, Sasuke-kun, I know that."

Sakura went back to her seat and proceeded to finish her paperwork. She needed to get this done now if she was about to become a sensei. She wouldn't have a lot of time once she took that on. She would not be able to go to Ichiraku's tonight.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

She sighed and said, "I have to get this finished. Tell Naruto that I'm sorry that I could not make it."

He glared at her now. She was becoming annoying. She's just so damn stubborn. She doesn't listen to a word that he says. She needs to go to sleep.

"No. You're going home to sleep."

She didn't even bother to look up at him as she continued to work on the paperwork. There was no way that he was going to convince her to leave here tonight. He gritted his teeth and decided that he was going to have to do this by force.

It only took him a second to appear behind her and knock her out. As her eyes closed, she swore that when she woke up that she was going to kill him. How dare he do this to her, again?

He picked her up and held her gently against his chest. He smirked down at her and did a teleportation jutsu to her apartment. He walked into her bedroom and laid her down on the bed. He covered her up and caressed her face.

"You shouldn't be so damn stubborn, Sakura."

He watched her sleep for the rest of the night. When she had a nightmare, he would caress her face or play with her hair. He found that it made it go away somehow. Someday, he would ask her what she dreamt about.

* * *

Sakura awoke groggily, and something felt different somehow. Her breath hitched when she heard someone else breathing beside her. She quickly looked over and saw Sasuke sleeping beside her. She gripped her erratic heart to make it stop beating so fast.

The previous night came flooding back to her. She became angry when she remembered the fact that Sasuke had knocked her out, but all her anger went away as she looked at his peaceful face. Last time he had knocked her out, he had not been there when she awoke. Now, though, he was here right beside her. It was comforting.

"Go back to sleep, Sakura."

She looked back down at him and was met with dark eyes. He looked tired, she noted. Why he had decided to stay, she could not guess.

"I can't believe you knocked me out."

He rolled his eyes at her and didn't even bother to answer her.

"I really needed to get that paperwork finished, Sasuke-kun! Now I'm going to be behind!" she exclaimed exasperatedly.

He gave her a look as if to say you-were-tired-and-needed-sleep. Now she rolled her eyes at him and looked at the clock. It was eight in the morning. It was a good thing that she didn't need to work today, but she did need to get to that meeting at noon.

She slowly sat up and yawned. She stretched and her shirt went up to expose some of her creamy skin. Sasuke tried, but failed, to look away from her. Then his onyx eyes noticed something. He saw a nasty scar on her stomach. Medical ninjutsu doesn't normally leave scars…

"What's that?" he asked curiously.

She instantly stopped stretching and blushed.

"W-What's what, Sasuke-kun?"

"That scar on your stomach," he answered while looking at the crimson on her cheeks.

"Oh, that," she said.

She lifted her shirt back up to show him a better view of her scar. Her heart started to beat extremely fast when his hand started to trace it. His skin on hers felt like an electricity bolt going straight through her and down to her very core.

She could feel how hot her cheeks were and wished that he could not see it. It is embarrassing.

"It's on my back as well," she said.

His brow instantly furrowed and he frowned.

"You were impaled?"

She just nodded and turned to the side so that he could see that as well. Each of his hands was touching the two scars left over from the impalement. She felt a shiver go down her spine.

"How did it happen?" he asked.

She could hardly think with his hands on her, but she finally managed to tell him about her battle with Sasori and how he was going to land the blow on Granny Chiyo, but she had jumped in the way. It had been a long time since she had thought about that fight.

He could just picture Sakura doing something like that. She always put others first, above herself. That is how she has always been. It was a wonder that she was even still alive at all. She had gotten this while he had been away, after he had left. He instantly felt blame for her scar, for everything she had gone through.

He dropped his hands back down and she let her shirt fall back to where it belonged. She looked over at him with a smile on her face.

"You know, Sasuke-kun, it's rude to stare at someone."

"I'm not staring."

She laughed and said, "No, silly, earlier when you noticed my scar. You had to have been staring to notice it."

He scowled at her and that just made her laugh even more.

"What do you have dreams about?" he suddenly asked.

She instantly stopped laughing and looked away from him. She bit her lip. She did not want to discuss her nightmares. They were something that she didn't even want to ever think about, much less speak about.

"They are not dreams."

He just continued to stare at her and she could feel his gaze one her. She felt like she was on stage about to give a big, very important speech or something of the sort. This was personal and painful.

"They're nightmares."

She realized something then though. If she could not share things like this with him, how did she expect him to ever open up to her?

She sighed heavily and said, "They are always about you. You're either: fighting Naruto, trying to kill me, or leaving."

She finally turned to look at him, and met his onyx eyes. They were not filled with pity, but with guilt and understanding. She bit her lip because she could feel her eyes start to water. It had been a long time since she had cried.

"I'm sorry, for everything."

The tears were heavy and she could not hold them back anymore now. They slid down her cheeks form her green eyes. She looked like she was in pain and anguish.

Her eyes flashed open when she felt Sasuke's hand on her face, wiping away her tears with his thumb. She sniffled.

"You don't have to cry, Sakura. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere."

Her watery eyes widened in shock at his words and actions and she finally met his intense gaze. Her tears stopped flowing and Sasuke wiped the rest of them away. He reluctantly dropped his hand when he had wiped them all away.

She managed to give him a broken smile and said, "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

"You don't have to thank me, Sakura."

"And you didn't have to thank me all those years ago."

* * *

"Your students will graduate from the academy at this time in a week. You will be given a team while they are on their lunch break and informed on which room to go in," Tsunade explained.

"Hai," all the shinobi answered.

Sakura looked around the room and saw that Lee and Ino were here. She was glad that some of her friends were deciding to do what she was going to do.

"Sakura-chan," she heard from behind her.

She turned around and saw Goro's smiling face. She smiled back at him and said, "So are you ready to be a sensei?"

He nodded and answered, "Yes, I am. What about you?"

"Yes, more than ready."

As he looked closer at her, he noticed that she looked happier than usual. He wondered what had been the cause of it… Sasuke Uchiha instantly came to mind. He and everyone else knew all about team 7. They are a legend.

"Uchiha-san doesn't seem to like me very much."

At first she didn't know what to say to that. Sasuke had shown a little more coldness towards Goro than he did to others, which was saying a lot.

"He doesn't like people very much."

Goro nodded and was about to reply, but some of her friends came up to her and started to talk. As he watched her, he couldn't help but think that she was just absolutely beautiful. He wanted her, and he was going to damn well try to get her. Whether Sasuke Uchiha tried to stop him, or not.

"_**I believe that we can be extraordinary together rather than ordinary apart."**_

_**-Meredith from Grey's Anatomy**_

* * *

More reviews please! And a thanks for all those that have reviewed. You have truly made my day, and all of this worth it.


	13. Chapter 13: Sakura sensei

**Disclaimer: No ownership of Naruto by me! **

"Emiko! Get up! You'll be late for your graduation from the academy!"

Snoring and a mop of auburn hair was all you could see or hear on the bed. The morning light was shining in on the small form, but didn't seem to bother it. Her mother called her again. The form groaned and finally stirred.

Emiko Kimura sat up and stretched. She blew her mess of auburn hair out of her face. Her lids opened and revealed big, chocolate brown eyes. Once those eyes looked at the clock, they started to bulge.

She bolted out of her bed and threw on her clothes. She quickly brushed threw her long hair to get all of the knots out, and ran down the stairs. She grabbed a piece of toast and started to run out the door, while her parents protested in the background.

"Sorry! Can't stay for breakfast! I'll be late!" she yelled as she rushed out the door.

Emiko ran through the streets and tried not to run into anyone. It was hard not to. When she finally reached the academy, she was almost late. She saw people shake their heads at her, but she didn't pay them any attention. She always received those looks, and she usually gave them looks of her own.

She looked around for a seat and the only one was beside Hisoka Hyuga. She gulped because the guy is just plain scary and rude. He has no friends and is always alone. He barely even ever talks. He is handsome like all the Hyugas too. His chocolate brown hair was kept short. He had those eyes too, those silver-white eyes that could bring chills to your bones.

When she sat down beside him, she saw his eyes narrow. She glared at him and said, "It's the only seat left. Do you really think that I want to sit by you either?"

He turned and glared at her, and she glared right back. She was never one to let others try to walk all over her, and this guy was definitely not going to be one of them.

Hisoka looked away from her when Iruka sensei asked the class to come to order. Emiko tried to listen intently, but it was hard. Her brown eyes started to look around the room. Even though she is an outgoing person, she isn't very good at making friends. None of these people were her friends. For a moment, she kind of wished that she had at least one.

Her eyes finally landed on Akira Hamasaki, the smart girl that she has yet to hear speak. Akira's blonde hair was practically white, and her eyes were a sky blue. It was hard to see her eyes most of the time though, because they were hidden by her bangs. Not to mention, the girl never smiles either. Emiko always saw her by herself.

When Iruka called her name to do the clone jutsu, she slowly sat up from her seat and walked up to him. All eyes were on her, but she ignored them as usual. She let out a breath and remembered her training.

Her hands formed the signs, and she could feel her chakra move inside herself. When she opened her eyes, there was a clone beside her. It didn't last long though. It disappeared. Iruka nodded and wrote something down on his clip board. She grumbled at herself, but went back to her seat. It hadn't turned out as good as she thought that it would.

She glared when Hisoka and Akira's turned out perfect. There were others as well that did it perfectly. No matter how many times that she trained or how hard, she was never as good as them. All the others in the room had parents as shinobi. She was the only outsider. Her parents owned at pottery shop and she sometimes had to work in it. She had no special talents, but she did have determination.

Finally, Iruka was announcing the teams. One team had already been announced. Emiko was about to bounce right out of her seat. Her impatience was about to take her over.

"Team 2 will be," Iruka continued, "Hisoka Hyuga."

"Emiko Kimura."

The two looked at each other with glares. They were each already disappointed with the teams.

"And Akira Hamasaki."

Hisoka and Emiko looked over at said girl, but she didn't even bother looking at them. Emiko inwardly groaned at her luck. She had gotten stuck with the two people who she was jealous the most of. She was stuck with the geniuses of her age group. She didn't even bother to hide her distaste.

* * *

Sakura sat in a tree outside of room 117 and waited for her new team to arrive. She could not wait until she met them. She wondered what they would be like and what their skills would be, or if they will ever get along. She was in the tree so that she could watch them before she actually met them.

After a couple more minutes of waiting, in walked her new students. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the only one of them that was talking. The girl had auburn hair and big brown eyes that seemed to shine. Sakura watched as the girl turned to a boy with chocolate brown hair and those Hyuga eyes. The auburn-haired girl glared at the Hyuga and then proceeded to yell. Sakura then proceeded to look at the last one in the room. It was a quiet girl with white blonde hair and sky blue eyes. Sakura sighed heavily because she knew that this was going to be a dysfunctional team. But that was okay.

She knew all of their names and what grades they had made. She knew their specialties and what they were capable of. Akira Hamasaki intrigued her the most.

Sakura decided that it was time to meet her new students. She made the signs for a teleportation jutsu and appeared right in front of them. She watched as each of them instantly tensed and looked at her.

Once Emiko realized who their sensei was, she almost wanted to scream like a little fan girl. Their sense is Sakura Haruno from the legendary Team 7. Sakura had once healed her when she had sprained her ankle at the age of seven. Sakura is her idol!

"Y-You're Sakura Haruno!" Emiko exclaimed.

Sakura looked taken aback at first, but quickly regained her composure. She nodded and smiled at them.

"Yes, that's me."

"You're from Team 7! You're like, famous!"

Sakura hadn't known that she was that well known. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well, I wouldn't say that."

Emiko shook her head and said, "But you are! And so is your team!"

Hisoka finally decided to speak up. He was getting annoyed with all of this foolishness.

"Shut up, Emiko."

Emiko was shocked at first to see that he knew her name, but she instantly became angry that he had told her to shut up. She was going to retaliate, but Sakura started to talk.

As Sakura sat down on the desk, she said, "How about we get to know each other? As some of you already know, my name is Sakura Haruno. My hobbies are working, training, and spending time with friends and family. My likes are dumplings and ramen, and my dislikes are people who abandon others. My dreams for the future are to help as many people as I can."

She looked at her three students and said, "Now you go."

Emiko spoke first, because the others didn't really wish to and she really wanted to.

"My name is Emiko Kimura! My hobbies are training….and that's it I guess… My likes are onagri. And my dislikes are stuck up people. My dream for the future is to be the greatest shinobi!" Emiko exclaimed and looked at Hisoka towards the end to emphasize her point.

Hisoka rolled his eyes and said, "My name is Hisoka Hyuga. My hobbies are training. My likes are training with my brother, and my dislikes are annoyances. My dream for the future is to be the head of my clan."

All eyes went to Akira, the girl who never speaks. The girl didn't look at any of them as she finally spoke softly.

"My name is Akira Hamasaki. My hobbies are….training…I guess. My likes are rice balls and my dislikes are being stared at," all eyes left her form, "and I do not have a dream."

Hisoka and Emiko were shocked to finally hear her voice. They each had gone to the academy with her, and never heard her speak a word. They just thought that she didn't speak. Her voice was soft and quiet, but also sweet.

Sakura smiled at them and said, "Tomorrow you three will go through a survival exercise. Do not eat breakfast and be there by five."

"Why shouldn't we eat breakfast?" Emiko asked curiously.

Sakura could barely hide the smirk from her lips as she said, "Because you will throw up."

They gulped and she said, "It was nice meeting each of you. See you in the morning."

"Bye, Sakura-sensei!" Emiko yelled.

As Sakura left, she decided that it felt nice to be called that. Now she knew a little of what Kakashi felt. Hopefully she could be as good of a teacher as he is. That was her goal in all of this.

* * *

As Sasuke was about to open Sakura's door to her office, he heard someone else heading his way.

"Uchiha-san."

Sasuke turned to see the last person he ever wanted to see, Goro Arato. Sasuke didn't bother to acknowledge him. He wasn't worth his time, at all.

"So are you here to see Sakura-chan as well?" Goro asked.

"Hn."

"Sakura-chan told me that she wanted to meet me here to discuss our teams, so what are you doing here?" he asked smugly.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him and literally contemplated killing him. Sasuke calmed himself down and decided that he wasn't worth getting into trouble for and ruining his life for.

"I'm allowed here any time I want."

Goro gritted his teeth and said, "I see."

Goro decided to take the conversation to a different turn and asked, "Didn't you betray Konoha years ago?"

"I don't see how that is any of your business."

Goro glared back at Sasuke and replied, "It is my business, because by betraying Konoha, you betrayed Sakura as well-."

"And what makes you think that Sakura is any of your business?" Sasuke asked icily.

Goro stepped closer to the fuming Uchiha and said, "You abandoned her. You tried to kill her. You could care less about her. You don't know how to make her happy. You are not good enough for her. And you sure as hell do not own her."

"You're right," Sasuke finally said.

Goro looked at him confusedly, but he could find no answers from the Uchiha's emotionless expression.

"But you are not good enough for her either."

Goro glared at him and raised his hand to hit him, but Sasuke pinned him up against the wall before he could even move. Sasuke glared at him icily and held him so tight that Goro was afraid that his bones were going to break.

"You know nothing about Sakura, so stop acting as if you do."

After a few more minutes of glaring, Sasuke finally let Goro go. Goro had to admit that the Uchiha was extremely fast. He probably would not win if he battled against him.

Before either of the men could say anything more, Sakura Haruno herself came walking towards them. She smiled at the both of them, but then she also noticed the tension between them.

"Hey you guys, what's up?" she asked.

Goro smiled at her and answered, "I'm here to discuss our students, but I'm famished. I was hoping that we could discuss them while eating somewhere."

Sakura nodded and then looked over towards her dark haired teammate. She noticed something off about him. He looked ticked off. She wanted to know what was wrong with him.

"Why are you here, Sasuke-kun?" she asked.

His obsidian eyes went to her form and they were so intense that she instantly started to blush.

"Hn. To talk to you," he answered simply.

Her blush deepened and Goro started to instantly become angry and jealous of Sasuke Uchiha. The guy could make her blush so damn easily. He didn't know how he managed to do it. He had some kind of hold on her.

"A-About what?" she stuttered.

He smirked and answered, "About how it is to be a sensei."

Goro glared at Sasuke. He was slick.

Sakura nodded and looked between the both of them. Goro had already asked her, but it was rare for Sasuke to actually want to spend time with her and to listen to things going on in her life. What was she supposed to do?

She turned to Sasuke and said, "Um… I'm sorry Sasuke-kun, but Goro-kun already asked me. I promise that I will come and talk to you later, okay?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected that kind of an answer. Goro was looking smug at him. Now he wished he had killed him earlier.

"Hn. Whatever," he answered as he walked off.

Sakura watched his retreating back and felt bad instantly. He was the one that she wanted to spend time with, but she had to be polite. It was the nice thing to do, and she hardly ever got to see Goro anyways. He is one of her good friends.

"Shall we?" Goro motioned.

She smiled at him, but it wasn't a real smile and followed him out of the hospital and into Konoha's streets.

* * *

Even though his pride was against it, Sasuke followed Sakura and Goro to a restaurant. He had to keep telling himself it was because he needed to make sure that that guy didn't try anything with Sakura. He didn't even want to think of the real reason why he was doing what he was doing.

Sasuke watched as Sakura laughed at a joke that Goro had made. It felt so weird seeing her with anyone besides him or members of team 7. It just didn't feel right.

They were in the restaurant for an hour and he watched to see Goro asking to walk her home. Sakura declined, but he insisted. Sasuke wanted to pummel him. He followed them to Sakura's apartment, and wanted to literally rip Goro's arm off when he took hold of Sakura's arm.

Sasuke watched as Sakura turned to him in shock. Even in the darkness, he could see the blush on her beautiful face. She looked confused.

Sasuke could not hear what Goro said, but he knew that it could not be good. Sakura never said a word though. Finally, Goro let her go and bid her goodnight. Once he was gone and she inside of her apartment, Sasuke made his way to her door. He didn't even bother to knock.

Sakura turned to him in shock and exclaimed, "Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here?"

He just walked right up to her and gently took hold of the arm that Goro had just been recently holding. He inspected it carefully. She looked at him confusedly.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Did he hurt you?" he asked anxiously.

Her brow furrowed and she asked, "No, why would you think that he did?"

He let go of her arm and she watched him carefully. Sasuke wasn't acting like himself. He was confusing her. His concern was sweet though.

"Why don't you like, Goro-kun?"

"Why do _you _like him?"

Sakura could just feel the venom seeping out of his words. What was wrong with him? Why was he so upset about it?

"I asked first," she finally said.

He sighed heavily and said, "I don't trust him."

"Why?"

"Just forget it," he answered.

He started to walk away and head towards the door, but Sakura grabbed is arm. He instantly tensed from her touch. It made his stomach do flip flops.

"Sasuke-kun, please tell me what's wrong," Sakura pleaded.

He finally turned around and said, "There's nothing wrong, Sakura. Tell me about your students."

She glared at him because he was changing the subject. But she knew that he wasn't going to continue this conversation, no matter how hard she tried. She sighed heavily.

"They're interesting. One of them thinks that I'm famous. She says that our team is too."

Sasuke smirked and said, "Ahh."

"The other two don't talk as much though. One of them is a Hyuga, and Emiko, the one who thinks we're famous, does not get along with him. Akira Hamasaki is quiet and reserved. She's also extremely talented," Sakura explained.

"Are you giving them the bell test tomorrow?" Sasuke asked, while thinking back on the memory.

Sakura smiled and answered, "Yeah, I am. I haven't decided if I'm going to show up late yet or not. But I did tell them not to eat breakfast."

Sasuke smirked and said, "I wonder if they will figure out that the key to the exercise is teamwork…"

Sakura shrugged and said, "I don't know, but I hope so. I liked being called Sakura-sensei."

Sasuke stayed and listened to her talk for hours until she fell asleep with her head on his shoulder. He gently picked her up and carried her to her bed. He was tired himself, and when he heard her start to mumble in her sleep, he crawled into bed beside her. He caressed her skin and her expression instantly went back to peaceful.

When he was about to fall asleep, he felt her curl up against him. She held onto him tightly, as if to never let go. He smiled softly at her, and held onto her as well. She fit so perfectly against him, like she was meant to be there.

"_**Maybe we have to get a little messed up before we can step up."**_

* * *

**Thank you guys for the reviews! Keep it up! **


	14. Chapter 14: The Test

**I'm so so so so sorry for taking forever on updating! I hope you guys can forgive me! I hope the fact that I made this chapter longer helps! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! **

* * *

Emiko was the last of her squad to arrive at the training grounds on the morning of their survival test. Her two teammates looked worn out and Hisoka glared at her.

"You're late," he stated.

She rolled her eyes at him and exclaimed, "By like ten minutes!"

He just really got on her nerves. He acted like he was better than her and that's what angered her the most. She had to work harder than he did to become stronger. He was blessed with his special abilities and his clan status. She had to work to get people to respect her.

"Sakura-sensei isn't here anyways," Akira said quietly.

Both Emiko and Hisoka turned their attention to their small teammate. It was still so weird for them to hear her talk. Emiko smiled at her and Hisoka turned away from the two females.

"Thanks, Akira-chan," Emiko whispered to her teammate.

Emiko's smile widened when she noticed the girl blush. Apparently she wasn't used to people talking to her or adding a suffix to her name. Emiko herself isn't socially talented either, but she isn't afraid or shy.

Akira glanced at her teammate with her sky blue eyes. Emiko had been nice to her so far, and she seemed like she wanted to make friends. The boy, Hisoka, scared her a bit still though. She isn't used to talking to people or for them to talk back to her. She has always been extremely shy.

Each of the genin's attention went to Sakura as she appeared in the clearing finally. Sakura smiled at each of them and had been watching them curiously from afar. She was going to be late like Kakashi always was, but decided that she just could not do it.

"Good morning," she greeted.

Emiko smiled widely at her and returned, "Good morning, Sakura-sensei!"

The other two just nodded to show that they returned the greeting.

Sakura smiled at each of them and pulled out the old two bells that held so many memories and jingled them together. She watched as her students looked at her and the bells curiously.

"You have to get a bell from me by lunch time. Use any techniques, even your powerful ones. If you don't get a bell, you don't get to eat and you fail the test. If you fail the test, then you will be stripped of your ninja status and remain where you are forever," Sakura explained.

She could remember when she had heard the exact same thing from Kakashi all those years ago. Now she was the one on the other side, hoping that her team could pass the test to become genin.

Sakura watched as their expressions turned to mild curiosity to complete shock.

"What do you mean, Sensei?!" Emiko screamed.

"I thought we already graduated…?" Hisoka asked.

Akira remained silent the whole time.

Sakura sighed and said, "Just get one of these bells, and you will be okay."

All three of her students gulped as their sensei said, "Begin!"

* * *

Sasuke could feel a migraine coming on as he listened to Naruto ramble on and on about Hinata and other things that Sasuke did not really care much about. Naruto was currently talking while slurping ramen and the juice and food was getting everywhere. Sasuke inwardly cringed and decided for the millionth time in his life that Naruto is officially disgusting and annoying.

"Say Sasuke-teme what's been up with you and Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked out of nowhere.

Sasuke choked on the food that was currently going down his throat and started to cough uncontrollably. Naruto patted him on the back and his mischievous grin widened when Sasuke gave him an evil death glare.

"W-What?"

"I asked what's been up with you and Sakura-chan." Naruto repeated himself.

Sasuke shrugged and answered, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're always going to the hospital constantly and giving her walks home! Almost every time I go to Sakura-chan's apartment, you're there! One time I even came over early in the morning through the window and you two were sleeping in the same bed all cuddly-!"

"There's nothing going on, Dobe," Sasuke interrupted.

Everything Naruto had said was true, but it wasn't what Naruto thought. Sasuke was simply just watching over her because that Goro guy wasn't good enough for her. Yeah, that was his reason for doing what he was doing. And he was _not _jealous. He enjoyed her company that was all.

Naruto was about to retort to that, but someone sat down beside Sasuke. Both Naruto and Sasuke turned to see none other than Goro Arato. They each turned towards him and he smiled back at them.

Naruto grinned and said, "Hey, Goro!"

Sasuke turned to Naruto then, in shock. Naruto knew this guy? How does he know him? A scowl formed itself on his perfect lips.

"Naruto," his chocolate eyes turned to Uchiha and said, "Uchiha-san."

Sasuke just glared at him icily. Naruto noticed the evil glare and had to wonder what Goro had done to his best friend.

"So what's up, Goro?" Naruto finally asked to break the tension.

"Well, my students just passed their test."

Naruto grinned and asked, "So you're a sensei just like Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke noticed the way Goro's face lit up when Sakura was mentioned. He gritted his teeth so he wouldn't punch the idiot.

Goro grinned and said, "Yeah. Where is Sakura-chan by the way?"

Sasuke couldn't contain himself any longer. This guy had no right to even speak her name.

Before Naruto could even reply, Sasuke said evenly, "That's none of your business."

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke in shock and Goro glared at the man sitting beside him. Sasuke just looked at him with complete and utter anger.

"And it's not your job to tell me if it's my business or not, Uchiha," Goro said evenly.

Naruto gulped and could feel the tension in the air. The shopkeepers also noticed the tension and went into the back just in case there was going to be a fight.

It took everything Sasuke had to not have his sharingan fully activated at this point. He had already thought of a hundred different ways to kill Goro, each better than the last.

"Stay away from her," Sasuke said maliciously.

"The only way I will stay away from her, is if she tells me to do so. And she hasn't," Goro said arrogantly.

Naruto saw Sasuke's eyes change to red, and he sprang into action. He grabbed Sasuke's arm and whispered in his ear, "Let's just go, Sasuke. Don't do anything stupid."

When Sasuke didn't move, Naruto decided to drag him away from Goro because Naruto knew that look. Sasuke was literally going to kill Goro. He saw the murderous intent in those swirling red eyes.

* * *

Sakura smirked as she stood in the clearing. She knew where her students were hiding. Hisoka was up in the tree towards her left, Emiko was in the bushes, and Akira was….wait…where was Akira? Akira's chakra had suddenly disappeared. Sakura actually strained herself to find her, but even then she still couldn't. She knew that the girl was pretty strong for her age, but to be able to completely conceal her chakra from Sakura was amazing.

Hisoka took advantage of her distractedness and threw some shurikan at her. She easily dodged out of the way and then she blocked his fist as it tried to connect with her face. Sakura grinned at him and kicked him back into the forest like a bug.

Emiko gulped from her hiding place. Sakura sensei is very scary, she thought to herself. She watched as Hisoka tried to attack her again. He was hit back into the forest, but this time straight at her. It was so fast, that she didn't even have time to move out of the way.

Hisoka crashed into her like a boulder and she took the full blow of the landing. They each groaned and Emiko pushed him off of her.

"Ow! Watch where you freaking land, idiot!" she yelled at him.

She gripped her side from her outburst. It was painful as she stood up as well. When she looked over at Hisoka, he was in pain as well, probably more than herself.

"Sorry," he said meekly.

Emiko looked over at him confusedly. He looked tired and his mouth was bleeding. He was also gripping his side. She figured that he would have snapped back at her, but it appeared that he did not have the energy.

She stood beside Hisoka and said, "How about I help you? Two against one is better odds."

He snorted and said, "Fine. Where's Akira?"

"That's a good question."

Before anything could be said Akira jumped down from a tree and landed beside them.

"Akira! There you are!"

Akira blushed and smiled at them both.

Hisoka coughed and then gripped his side in pain. Emiko and Akira's eyes were instantly drawn to him.

"Are you okay?" Emiko asked him.

He nodded and said, "I'm fine. We need to attack as a group. We'll have more of a chance then."

Emiko and Akira nodded in agreement. Then they formed their plan.

* * *

"Sasuke, what the hell was that all about?" Naruto asked as calmly as he could.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and just continued to punch the dummy in front of him and imagined that it was Goro. His knuckles were ripped open and they burned every time he punched it again. He could feel droplets of blood trickle down his hands and land on the floor.

Naruto watched him and didn't quite know what to do. What could he even do?

"Sasuke-teme!"

There was no answer.

"Sasuke!"

Still no answer.

"Sasuke fucking Uchiha! Answer me dammit!"

Sasuke stopped punching the torn dummy and let his arms fall back down to his sides. His muscles burned from the exertion, but he reveled in it. He reveled in all the physical pain he was feeling, because it helped distract him.

"I don't trust him."

Naruto frowned and asked, "Why not-?"

"Because he's trying to…he's a…he likes Sakura."

Naruto studied Sasuke's face and then it all hit him: Sasuke's attitude, Sakura and Sasuke spending time together more and more, Sasuke hating Goro for liking Sakura.

Sasuke is in love with Sakura.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he watched Naruto's face light up and a big grin formed on his face. Why was that idiot grinning like that? It didn't make any sense.

"Sasuke, I understand now," Naruto said simply, still grinning.

"What are you talking about, Dobe?"

Naruto wiggled his eyebrows at him and yelled, "You're in love with Sakura-chan!"

Every bone, fiber, and molecule froze in his body. What the hell was Naruto thinking? He couldn't possibly love Sakura… Sure, he loved the way her body seemed to melt next to his. He loved the smell of her hair, even if blood was in it. He loved how she was the same Sakura, yet she wasn't. He loved how much stronger she had become. He loved how compassionate she is. He even loved how annoying she is.

Wait a second, did he just say that he loves all those things about her. _Love? _Was he even capable of it?

He didn't even have to think about it to answer that question. He knew the answer and he wanted to hit himself for not even realizing it before. He is such an idiot.

He, Sasuke Uchiha, is in love with the beautiful, smart, strong Sakura Haruno.

* * *

Sakura smiled when Hisoka came at her again. She grinned when Emiko came from behind while she was engaged in fighting with Hisoka. So they were going to work as a team? She was so proud. Once Akira joined in, they would pass, but she wouldn't let them know that just yet. Wait, where is Akira anyway?

Sakura punched Hisoka and he landed in the water. Emiko moved to her blindside and actually almost touched one of the bells. Sakura immediately moved out of the way and blocked her. Emiko made to punch Sakura, but Sakura blocked that as well. So Emiko tried kicking her, but it was blocked too.

Sakura was so engrossed in fighting Emiko that she didn't even notice or feel Akira come out of nowhere and grab one of the bells. Sakura smirked and felt a bubble of pride well up inside of herself. They were so talented.

Sakura knocked them both away from her then the lunch bell went off. They each wore frowns on their faces and Sakura had to suppress her grin as they made their way to the timer and the lunch boxes.

"We were so close!" Emiko whined.

Sakura looked at all three of them and asked them, "What do you think the point of this test was?"

Sakura watched them go deep in thought and waited for an answer.

"To get the bells, duh!" Emiko said.

Sakura shook her head and said, "No."

"What? Then what was it?" Emiko asked.

Sakura waited patiently.

Then, out of nowhere, Akira's soft voice spoke up.

"The purpose was teamwork, sensei."

Sakura wanted to jump up in the air with joy, but that wouldn't be very professional. She smiled brightly at all three of them and said, "Yes, that's correct."

Then she looked at them seriously and said one of her own sensei's most famous lines, "It is true that in the shinobi world that those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."

She still remembered that day that Kakashi had told them that. It was one of the greatest lessons that she had ever learned. It was ingrained into her memory.

She looked at each of their amazed faces and smiled at them. She was glad that she could teach them what she had been taught.

"You pass."

* * *

"Teme! Where are you going?" Naruto screamed at his best friend's retreating back.

Sasuke Uchiha knew exactly where he was going. He was going to Sakura. He didn't know where she was, but he was going to damn well find her. He ran through the streets of Konoha searching for her chakra. There! She was at the ramen stand with her students.

People screamed at him in protest, but he just ignored them. He needed to see her after what he had just realized. All these feelings have been bottled up inside of him and now he feels that they need to just come out. This was so unlike himself.

He slowed down when he came close to the ramen stand and just started to watch her for a second. One of her students, a girl with auburn hair, was arguing with a Hyuga boy. The third one was watching them curiously. Then his eyes finally landed on the pink haired girl. She was shaking her head at them, but also laughing. She said something to them and the two stopped fighting.

He smirked and made his way to the ramen stand and sat down beside her. Sakura jumped in surprise.

"Sasuke-kun! What are you doing here?"

She blushed when he made eye contact with him and she noticed this intense look in his eyes that made butterflies flutter around inside her stomach.

Hisoka, Emiko, and Akira all turned their attention to the new handsome arrival. Emiko had to fight herself back from squealing. She has only seen him in person a couple of times and she knew all of the stories of what he had done and knew that he was a part of team 7. She had never seen him in person this close before and she could safely say that he was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen.

After Emiko got over her little squealing inside her head and drooling, she noticed the look Sasuke Uchiha gave her sensei. She also noticed the blush on her sensei's face. Do they like each other or something?

"I was looking for you," he answered.

Emiko watched as Sakura's blush deepened and a confused expression formed on her sensei's face.

"W-Why?"

"I need you," he paused, "….to heal my hands."

Sakura gulped because of the pause and then her green eyes went straight to his hands. She gasped then looked back up at his face with a glare fixed on her beautiful face.

"Sasuke Uchiha! I've told you time and time again not to overwork your training sessions!" Sakura scolded him.

Emiko watched as his beautiful lips turned up into a smirk. She was surprised that he didn't even seem the least bit scared.

Sakura looked over at her students and said, "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Be at the training grounds tomorrow at noon."

She paid for their meal and said, "You guys did well today. I'm proud."

Hisoka, Emiko, and Akira watched as their sensei walk away with the Uchiha.

"They look really good together, don't they?" Emiko said softly.

* * *

Sasuke sighed as Sakura's healed his hands. All pain went away with her touch. That is another thing that he loves about her.

As she healed up the last of it, she wrapped them in bandages and said, "There you go, Sasuke-kun!"

As she started to turn away, he grabbed her hand. Her skin is so soft and smooth. She gasped in surprise and he rubbed the pad of his thumb over that smooth skin.

Everything about Sakura is soft and innocent, unlike himself. He is dark and she is light. He has done horrible things and has lost count of how many people he has killed. As his dark eyes met her light green ones, he couldn't see how he could possibly deserve her. He gritted his teeth. Sakura deserved better than him.

He let her go and stood up. Sakura looked at his back and tried to calm her breathing down. What was that he just did?

"I don't deserve you, Sakura…" he said softly.

She was in too much shock to even say anything.

But as he started to walk away, she started to move into action. She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around so that he could face her.

"What does that even mean, Sasuke-kun?" she asked.

He just gave her this regretful look that even she couldn't decipher.

"It means that I have done horrible things in the past-."

"Now listen here! You're right! You have done horrible things, but that was in the _past! _You have made up for all of them _now!" _she yelled at him.

He smirked at her. Of course Sakura would say something like that. It doesn't change anything though. It doesn't change who she deserves.

Sasuke closed the gap of space between them and Sakura gasped when his breath was on her ear. Sakura shivered.

"Sakura…you're beautiful," he whispered softly into her ear.

Then he left her standing there stunned and in complete and utter shock.

* * *

"_**The ones who are the hardest to love, are usually the ones who need it the most." **_


	15. Chapter 15: Coming To Terms

**I have updated again and I did it quickly because of the long wait from before! Again, I'm truly sorry for taking so long! Some people have asked me how long this story is going to be and I'm not for sure yet. It may be 30 chapters or 40 or 50... I'm not totally for sure yet lol We'll see! And thank you BlueBee3 and Noura for your speical reviews! They have really helped me and motivated me! I appreciate all of you! :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto for kami's sake! **

* * *

Emiko Kimura was sore from head to toe because of her training. Her arms and legs felt like jello. She had gotten up early that morning so that she could train before she had to meet up with her team at noon. She had pushed herself to the limit this time.

As Emiko made her way back to the village, she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a male's voice. She quickly jumped and concealed herself. She peeked through the bushes she was in and saw none other than Sasuke Uchiha himself, and another young male.

Emiko could cut the tension in the air with a knife, but that would reveal her hideout and she definitely did not want to do that.

She looked at the two, young brooding males and felt a shiver go down her spine at the malicious glares on each of their faces. If only looks could kill, Emiko thought.

"It's always a pleasure to see you, Uchiha-san," the young, brown haired man said.

Even though nothing cold was said, Emiko could tell that he was being sarcastic. What was going on here? Emiko was so confused.

"Hn…" the young Uchiha prodigy grunted and started to make his way past him.

"You know, me and Sakura-chan went on a date yesterday. At the end, I brought her back to my apartment and we-."

Emiko gasped as she watched Sasuke move so fast that he was a blur. In less than a second, Sasuke had the other male by the neck up in the air.

Emiko's heart was pounding a mile a minute. She gulped because she saw that Sasuke's sharingan was now activated and he looked beyond furious. She has never seen anyone angrier than what Sasuke was right at this moment.

Then Emiko realized something; Sasuke Uchiha was angry at him because that man had mentioned something about Sakura sensei. His eyes showed a certain protectiveness.

"I can kill you," Sasuke stated coldly.

Emiko gulped and the other man would have if he could.

"But I won't because you are not worth it."

Sasuke tightened his grasp and the other male's face started to turn purple. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he threw him and he started to gasp for air desperately. He coughed uncontrollably and took in labored breaths.

Suddenly Sasuke was in front of him again. He punched him so hard in the jaw that he heard a crack. Sasuke smirked.

Emiko got chills when she heard the brown haired man scream. He wasn't so arrogant anymore.

Sasuke glared icily at him and said, "You are a liar anyways, because Sakura was with me yesterday."

Emiko now grinned. Sasuke was so cool! And he was so sweet protecting her sensei like that.

"And besides, even if I wasn't with her, I wouldn't believe you anyway. Sakura isn't like that," Sasuke snorted.

Sasuke looked at him one last time and warned, "If you ever speak about Sakura like that again, then I will do more than just break your jaw, _Goro." _

A bead of sweat went down Emiko's face. Even she knew that Sasuke meant exactly what he said.

She watched Sakura's protector walk away and then looked at Goro. He looked pathetic. His face was as white as a sheet and his jaw was swollen. He also had bruises on his neck.

Emiko silently went around Goro and made her way back to the village. She really wanted to tell someone about what she had just seen and heard. She knew so much and she wants to share.

Hisoka and Akira's faces instantly flashed into her mind. She grinned as she made her way to their training grounds. She knew that at least one of them had to be there early.

* * *

Sakura groaned and blearily made her way to her door. Whoever that was pounding on her door was going to be dead in a few minutes. She was dog tired because she stayed up late last night. She couldn't stop thinking about her encounter with Sasuke last night, and what he had done. He had called her beautiful. He had also said that he did not deserve her… She spent most of the night trying to decipher everything that had happened and then some of it trying to tell herself to not get her stupid hopes up because that never got her anywhere.

Sakura yawned as she opened the door and looked confusedly at Ino Yamanaka. The blonde pushed her way past her and Sakura could already feel her headache coming on.

"What are you doing here, Ino-pig?" Sakura asked.

"Can't I visit my favorite Forehead?" Ino said with a grin.

Sakura rolled her eyes and made her way to her kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. Ino looked closer at her best friend and noticed the bags underneath her eyes. And since when did Sakura Haruno sleep in until eleven a.m.?

"Sakura, are you okay?" Ino asked softly.

Sakura gave her a small smile and took a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah I'm fine, Ino."

Ino raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows at her and gave her a dubious look.

"You're lying, Sakura," her blue eyes softened, "you know you can talk to me, right?"

Sakura sighed and sat down at her kitchen table and Ino followed suit. Sakura decided that she could confide in Ino. She really needed some advice right now. Last time Ino had given her some pretty good advice.

"Spill, Forehead."

Sakura fidgeted with her shirt and then ran a hand through her tangled hair. She made a mental note to take a shower because she had to be at training at noon, which was less than an hour.

"Okay, Sasuke-kun has been acting weird…." Sakura started.

Ino gave her a confused look and asked, "What do you mean?"

Sakura sighed and fidgeted some more and explained to Ino about how she and Sasuke have grown closer and how he seems to hate Goro and how he has spent some nights with her.

Sakura watched as Ino's big blue eyes grew wider with each sentence that she spoke. Then Sakura's headache grew ten times worse when Ino squealed her freaking head off.

"Stop squealing, Pig!" Sakura yelled.

Ino grinned widely and screamed, "Ohmygoodness! How have I not been told sooner about this?!"

"That's not all, Ino," Sakura mumbled.

Ino's face went back to its shocked expression. Before Ino could say anything, Sakura said, "Yesterday evening he was acting extra weird. He came to me to heal his wounds and he usually doesn't want to willingly seek out help. Which was is the first weird thing. Then after I finished healing him, he grabbed my hand and stroked it.

"Then he just let me go and said something like he didn't deserve me and started to walk away. I asked him what he meant by it and he started to say that he has done horrible things in the past so I told him that he has made up for everything now.

"And this is the most bizarre thing. He came up to me and whispered in my ear that I was beautiful and then he just left me freaking standing there!" Sakura explained.

Sakura finally looked up at her friend after she finished talking and saw the look on the blonde's face. Her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were even wider than before.

Ino closed her mouth and asked, "Sakura, how are you the smartest person ever, but you haven't even figured it out yet?"

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "What are you talking about-?"

"Sasuke's freaking like in love with you, you idiot!" Ino screamed at her pink haired best friend.

Sakura's eyes went wide and it seemed like her heart and the rest of the world stopped. It felt like something finally clicked inside her, but she quickly denied it. She's too used to rejection from him.

Sakura quickly shook her and said, "No, Ino he-."

"_Sakura!_ This is Sasuke Uchiha that we're talking about! You know? The boy that doesn't show any affection! He acts differently towards you than he does to anyone else! He always has! Just think about what he said to you!" Ino screamed at Sakura trying to get her to see.

Sakura started to shake her head, but she stopped herself. Sasuke couldn't possibly have feelings for her, could he? Sure, some of the things he did surprised her, but he has always made it very clear that he couldn't possibly care about her in that way, let alone be in love with her.

Ino was right about one thing though, he was acting differently towards her. He called her beautiful for kami's sake! She has never been more confused in her entire life. She groaned in frustration.

"Sakura, think about it. He said that he doesn't deserve you. That alone should say it all," Ino said softly.

Sakura looked up at her friend. She really wanted to believe it, she did, but she couldn't allow herself to unless Sasuke said it himself.

Sakura looked at the clock and her big green eyes grew wide. Ino watched her curiously.

"Oh no! I'm going to be late! I have to be at the training grounds at noon to train with my students! And I still have to take my shower!"

Ino laughed and said, "Well, I see you again later, Forehead."

She looked at Sakura more seriously and said, "Don't forget what we talked about, alright?"

"I wouldn't be able to forget it, Ino," Sakura said quietly.

* * *

"You're making this up, Emiko," Hisoka said with an annoyed tone to his voice.

Emiko glared at him and yelled, "I am not! I saw all of it! Sasuke Uchiha punched this Goro guy and broke his jaw and choked him because he was talking about Sakura sensei in a way that he shouldn't have been!"

Hisoka rolled his eyes and turned away from her. Then Akira spoke softly, "He cares about her. I could tell when he came to Ichiraku's."

"I know! So could I! It's so obvious!" Emiko exclaimed.

Hisoka groaned and complained, "You guys are such girls."

Meanwhile, Sakura could hear their whole conversation, and now it was becoming really hard for her to deny what Ino had told her.

* * *

"_**Scars are reminders of the obstacles we've overcome. Wear them proudly."**_

_**-Ashton Kutcher**_


	16. Chapter 16: Coming Clean

**Here's another update! I hope all of you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: All of this genius belongs to Misashi Kishimoto! **

* * *

Sakura Haruno stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a nurse talking with someone very familiar. The male's voice seemed to be in some kind of pain.

She waited for the nurse to take him into a room and then she started to walk quickly down the hall. Just as she started to pass the room Goro was in, the nurse came out.

"Oh! Haruno-san! A patient just came in with a broken jaw, could you take care of him?" the nurse asked nicely.

Sakura inwardly groaned and cursed her luck. She nodded meekly and reluctantly went inside the cursed room. And sure enough, Goro was in there with a broken jaw and bruise marks on his neck.

When he finally noticed her approaching, he didn't give her his usual grin or warm greeting. Instead, he averted his eyes and looked out the window.

So Emiko was telling the truth, Sakura thought. The thought made butterflies flutter around in her stomach.

Sakura quickly healed his broken jaw and checked for other injuries. There wasn't any, aside from other bruises and cuts.

"What happened?" Sakura asked evenly.

He still didn't look at her as he answered, "That bastard, traitor did this to me-."

She clenched her fists and almost hit him for calling Sasuke that word. Nobody is allowed to call him that. They have no right. Sakura gritted her teeth and ignored the remark regretfully.

"Sasuke-kun did this?" Sakura asked evenly.

Goro still wouldn't look at her so she asked, "Why?"

"He's a psychopath! He should be written up for this and thrown in prison!" Goro yelled.

Sakura set a pair of very hard green eyes on his pathetic form and said evenly, "You know nothing about, Sasuke-kun. He wouldn't intentionally hurt someone, unless he was provoked. What did you do, Goro?"

Goro finally looked at her and yelled, "Why are you taking his side! I have done more for you than he has! He's tried to fucking kill you, Sakura!"

His words hit a sensitive spot deep down inside of her. She bit her lip and tried to make all of the painful memories retreat back down where they belong.

Sakura leaned forward and Goro looked at her in shock.

"For the last time, stop speaking about things that you know absolutely nothing about," she looked at him calmly, too calmly, "because if you do, I will lose my temper. If I kill you, I will hold you responsible for my actions."

Once she finished what she had to say, she backed away from the frightened young man and slammed the door shut behind her. All of the nurses jumped at the loud sound and looked in frightened awe at the broken door. As she walked away from it, the door crumbled to pieces.

Sakura Haruno did not acknowledge anyone as she marched out of the hospital and to the training grounds. She needed to hit something repeatedly and do some damage so she can control her anger.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki was walking casually with his girlfriend when he saw his pink haired best friend. She was surrounded by fallen and broken trees and cracked earth. Her clothes were torn and covered with dirt. Her hair was a knotted mess and her knuckles were cracked and bloody. Naruto wondered where her gloves were.

Naruto looked back at Hinata and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, but I need to-."

"Go check on Sakura-chan," Hinata finished for him with a small blush on her cheeks.

She smiled at him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"See you later, Naruto-kun," she said as she walked away.

Naruto couldn't help but feel really grateful to have Hinata. He smiled softly at her retreating form.

He turned his attention back to the matter at hand. By the time he reached Sakura, she was laying on the broken forest floor.

"Sakura-chan…?" he asked tentatively.

The said girl quickly opened her green eyes, but closed them again once she realized that it was only Naruto.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just training, Naruto. I'm tired," she answered.

Sakura opened her eyes again when she felt Naruto lay down beside her.

He grinned at her and said, "You don't go around destroying forests and habitats for no reason."

She turned away from him and looked up at the bright blue sky.

"I was angry and I needed to vent," Sakura admitted.

"Why?"

Sakura sighed and said, "I'm so confused, Naruto…"

Naruto furrowed his brow and asked, "That's why you were mad-?"

"No. That's not why. I'm confused because Sasuke-kun has been acting really weird."

Bingo! Naruto grinned at her widely and then she gave him a confused look.

"Naruto?"

Cerulean met emerald and he looked at her seriously.

"Sasuke-teme has always treated you differently from everyone else… Do you know what kept the hope in me alive that he would return?"

Sakura shook her head numbly.

"Okay. Do you remember that day that we had to fight Gaara and you were pinned to the tree?" Naruto asked.

Now Sakura nodded her head and asked, "Yeah, but what does-?"

"That day when you jumped in front of him and was almost killed, I think, was the day he realized exactly what you meant to him. He told me that I had to save you no matter what, and once I had you, he told me to run. He said he never wanted to see another person he cared about die right before his eyes again, Sakura-chan. Those words that he said that day never left me.

"That's also when I really realized that you two were meant to be together…" Naruto finished.

After he finished, Sakura gulped and sat up. She brought her knees to her chest. She was in shock. She never knew that he had said those things.

Finally she said, "Naruto…please don't say anymore."

"Sakura-chan-!"

"No. I don't care what any of you say, he doesn't love me the same way that I love him. I will not get my hopes up, just to let them become crushed."

Naruto quickly stood up and then stood in front of Sakura. He held out his tanned hand for her.

She looked up at him with sad eyes and then took ahold of his hand. He helped her up easily.

When she was standing, he said, "It will happen, Sakura-chan, I know it."

Sakura gave him a small smile and then he let go of her hand, but not before squeezing it tightly.

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha stopped when he heard some of the nurses talking about his female teammate.

"Yeah Haruno-san was so angry that when she slammed the doors, it broke to pieces and cracked the wall. A repairman had to come in a get it fixed, but he won't be finished until a couple of days," he heard a female gossip.

He heard the other lady gasp and then say, "Ohmygosh! Really? What made her so angry?"

"Nobody knows…"

Sasuke heard enough so he made himself known and walked up to the nurses that were just talking. Their eyes went wide when they saw him and they blushed.

"Where's Sakura?" he asked.

"S-She left hours ago-."

He quickly left them dumbfounded and headed off to the direction of her apartment. He needed to see if she was alright. He had come to the hospital to see her because….well it was because he missed her.

As soon as he exited the hospital, a messenger bird came to him. He cursed the timing. He was to report to Tsunade immediately because he had a mission. He cursed and looked longingly towards Sakura's apartment and then grudgingly went to the Hokage tower.

* * *

"_**Sometimes we must lose everything to gain anything." **_


	17. Chapter 17: Critical Conditions

**Here's another update! I hope y'all enjoy! Tomorrow is my christmas break and I'll be able to update a whole lot quicker. Hopefully anyways! lol **

* * *

Sakura was about to take her students out to ramen when someone from the hospital came sprinting towards her. Emiko, Akira, and Hisoka looked at the young girl confusedly along with their sensei.

"H-Haruno-san!" the girl panted.

Sakura furrowed her brow and asked, "What is it?"

The girl finally caught her breath and answered, "U-Uchiha-san just came into the hospital and h-he isn't…he is in critical-!"

Emiko, Akira, and Hisoka watched as the color drained from their sensei's face and her eyes grew wide with worry. She didn't even say anything as she did a teleportation jutsu to the hospital.

Sakura shoved everyone out of the way and shouted orders. She bent down next to him and covered her hands over the worst wound, but there was plenty more. Blood was already all over her and the floor. She had never been disgusted by the sight of blood until now. She swallowed back the bile that came up to her throat.

As a gurney finally came to take him to the operating room, she said to Sasuke, "Don't die, Sasuke-kun. You cannot die on me. Not now, not ever."

She repeated it over and over, hoping that he would listen.

* * *

Sakura sat beside Sasuke's hospital bed and did his paperwork. It was taking her longer than usual because her hands would not stop shaking. Her hands were raw from her scrubbing them so many times, over and over again. She still felt like his blood was all over her.

Sasuke had flat lined three times during surgery, and each time he did, she felt like her heart stopped with his.

Sakura looked at him now. His skin was deathly pale from all of the blood loss. She checked his vitals again. He was stable, and she sighed with great relief.

Just when Sakura thought she couldn't take it anymore, Naruto, Kakashi and Sai came into the room. All she could offer them was a weak smile.

She slowly stood up, because her knees still felt shaky and she put his chart back in its place.

"Sakura-chan…where are you going?" Naruto asked.

Sakura bolted from the room and went for the bathroom (lucky for her) that was right down the hall. She barely made it to a toilet before she threw up.

She carefully stood up and went to the sink. Her shaking body held onto it for dear life. She finally looked into the mirror and instantly regretted it. Her face was white and she had bags underneath her jaded eyes.

Sakura poured water all over her face and slowly dried it off with a towel. She sighed heavily when she heard the bathroom door open and then close.

She saw Kakashi's reflection in the mirror and he had that knowing look in his eyes. She gripped the sink tighter.

"He's alive, Sakura," Kakashi spoke softly.

Sakura bit her lip and replied, "I thought he was going to die, Kakashi-sensei."

She turned around slowly and looked down at her dainty hands.

"His blood was everywhere…"

She could not finish what she was going to say because a sob broke from her mouth and tears blurred her vision. Her heart constricted so she held onto it, gripping her shirt.

Sakura tensed when she felt her sensei's arms wrap around her. He stroked her soft pink locks.

"You saved him, Sakura. It's okay now…"

The sobs ripped through her body and he held her gently, but tightly.

Once she had finally let all of it out, he let her go and handed her a paper towel from the dispenser.

Sakura sniffled and said, "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

Even though his mask covered his face, you could tell he was smiling at her.

"I'm proud of you. I'm glad that I got to have you as my student," he said proudly.

She smiled back at him and replied, "And I'm glad that you're my sensei."

* * *

Sasuke could hear voices. They were both male and it sounded like there were two of them. He recognized them, but he didn't. One was loud and obnoxious while the other was unemotionally quiet and calm.

His whole body felt numb, but he knew that he was hurt pretty bad. He was trying to remember where he was and what happened when he heard a female voice along with another male's. The voice was soft and sweet and made something flutter around in his stomach.

Suddenly, he remembered it all; his mission and showing up barely alive at the hospital. His memory became fuzzy after that, but he remembered seeing pink hair and her telling him not to die over and over again. He remembered Sakura.

"…Sakura…?" he spoke hoarsely.

Sasuke could hear gasps in the room. He blearily opened his onyx eyes and his vision was blurry for a moment, but it finally cleared up.

He saw Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi-sensei. Lastly, he saw Sakura. Her beautiful eyes looked a little puffy and she looked dog tired.

Their eyes locked and he saw relief wash all over her features. She was worried for him? He saw something else in her eyes but he could not tell exactly what it was.

Sasuke saw movement and he looked down at her hands, and then her legs. They were shaking. What was wrong with her?

Just when he was about to speak or say _something, _her trembling voice spoke through the silence.

"I have another patient I have to check up on."

She quickly bolted from the room and made her way to the safety of her office. She gave a sigh of relief when the door was closed shut behind her.

Sakura knew she was being selfish, but she also knew that every single time she looked at him all she could see was him dying. That was something that she could not bear.

* * *

"You know that you have to pay, right?" Hisoka said as he sat down beside her.

Emiko glared at him and asked, "Why do _I_ have to pay?"

Akira looked at both of them curiously with a small smile on her face.

He gave Emiko an annoyed look and answered, "Because you were the one who insisted that we come here."

Emiko was about to shout at him, but Akira's soft voice broke through the tension.

"I'll pay, you guys."

Emiko smiled brightly at her while Hisoka mumbled things underneath his breath. Akira was the mediator between the two of her obnoxious teammates.

Their orders were placed in front of them and they each started to dig in.

Emiko seemed to be in deep thought and she wasn't eating.

"You drag us out here to eat ramen and you're not even eating," Hisoka said. Nothing could hide behind those eyes of his.

"What's wrong, Emiko-chan?" Akira asked softly.

Emiko could not get her sensei's face out of her head. The look of pure horror had been plastered on it. Emiko never saw anyone ever look that scared before. She knew that Sakura-sensei wasn't scared for herself, but for another.

"I wonder if Uchiha-san is okay…" Emiko finally spoke.

Akira nodded and added, "I hope Sakura-sensei is alright too."

Suddenly, it was like a light bulb dinged on top of Emiko's head. Hisoka and Akira watched her with curiosity.

"After we eat, we need to go to the flower shop and get sensei some flowers. Then we should go take them to her!"

Hisoka groaned and Akira smiled.

"That's a good idea," Akira said.

"Why do we need to do that?" Hisoka complained. He mainly just didn't want to go to the flower shop. He hated flowers because he thought they were petty. Plus, he was kind of allergic to them.

Emiko rolled her eyes at him, but then surprisingly gave him a smile.

"Because, Hisoka, we are a team. And that's what teams do."

Her smile was so beautiful and bright that against his will, he smiled back. The action did not go unnoticed by Akira either. She always did catch the smallest things.

* * *

"_**We forget what we try to remember and remember what we try to forget."**_


	18. Chapter 18: Avoidance

**Okay here's another update! I'm sorry it took a little while. I've been super busy being stuck with the family and crap like that! Lol! **

**-SakuraUchiha4Eternity**

**Disclaimer: There would be a lot more SasuSaku if I owned Naruto! **

* * *

"Haruno-san! You have some people here to see you!" a nurse announced while knocking on Sakura's office door. Sakura groaned because she didn't really want to see anyone and she hoped to kami that it was not Naruto or anyone like that.

"Let them in!" she ordered.

When the door opened Sakura was relieved to see that it was her students. Emiko came in first holding a bouquet of flowers followed by Akira and Hisoka. They each gave her a smile and Sakura could not help but to smile in return.

"We brought you some flowers, Sakura-sensei!" Emiko announced.

Sakura's eyes softened at the sight and replied, "You guys didn't have to do that!"

"Emiko insisted," Hisoka complained.

Sakura laughed at him and her attention turned to Akira as she spoke, "We brought them to make sure that you're okay, Sensei."

Sakura's heart warmed at the sweet gesture of her team. She had not expected them to do something like this. It was exactly what she needed too.

She enveloped her students in a group hug and all the while Hisoka groaned and complained about how he hated being stuck with a bunch of girls.

When Sakura released them, Emiko handed her the flowers and Sakura replaced some wilting flowers with her new ones. They looked great on her desk and she felt a bubble of pride envelope her heart.

"How is Uchiha-san?" Emiko asked casually.

Sakura bit her lip at just the mention of him. She still has not been to see him and she didn't think she would anytime soon.

"He will be fine," she finally answered.

Akira gave her a sweet smile and said, "That's good, Sakura-sensei."

Sakura gave her a small smile and visited with her students. It was nice to have young people that could look up to her like they did. It was also nice to watch them grow together. They were already getting stronger and closer. Emiko and Hisoka fought still, but not as often and the words were not cold anymore. Sakura could not wait to watch them continue to grow.

* * *

"Are you feeling okay, Teme?"

Besides all of the ache and pain, he also felt kind of depressed and hurt. The only thing on his mind was the pink haired girl that had bolted from his hospital room as soon as he woke up. When he came into the hospital, she had been super worried about him, and now she would not even come and see him. Instead of Sakura as his doctor like usual, he had Shizune.

"Hn…" Sasuke finally answered.

Naruto frowned at him and said, "Sakura-chan is probably just busy."

Sasuke didn't have the energy to roll his eyes at his best friend, so he just gave him the look.

Naruto could see the hurt in Sasuke's eyes and he wanted to help him. Naruto vowed to himself that he would chase Sakura Haruno down and drag her ass here.

Before Naruto could say anymore, Shizune and Kakashi walked into the room. Shizune went straight to checking on Sasuke's vitals while Kakashi stood by Naruto uncharacteristically not reading his signature orange book.

"How are you feeling?" Shizune finally asked.

"Fine," Sasuke answered curtly.

"No he's not! The Teme is depressed!" Naruto interjected.

Sasuke gave the idiot blonde a fierce glare.

"I am n-."

"He misses Sakura-chan," Naruto interrupted again.

Shizune gave Sasuke a pitying glance and he glared at her. Why couldn't Naruto just keep his mouth shut, Sasuke thought furiously.

"Sakura just needs time," Kakashi finally spoke up.

Shizune nodded in agreement remembering her conversation with the pinkette.

_*Flashback*_

_ "You want me to take over his care?" Shizune asked confusedly._

_ Sakura sighed heavily and Shizune noticed the bags underneath her jaded eyes._

_ "But Sakura-," Shizune started._

_ "Shizune, please, I just can't… I can't, okay?" Sakura pleaded._

_ Sakura saw her confused gaze and said, "You're the only one I trust, besides Tsunade, to treat him. I know she is too busy, so please."_

_ Shizune gave her a small smile and nodded._

_*End of Flashback*_

"Kakashi is right, she just needs time," Shizune agreed.

She updated his chart and exited the room with a quiet goodbye.

Sasuke was confused. Why did she need time? Was she angry at him? This was not the actions of the normal Sakura. He was worried about her.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

Naruto grinned and Kakashi said, "She'll be fine, Sasuke."

Naruto gave him a thumbs up and said, "Yeah, Sasuke-teme, no need to worry!"

"I wasn't worrying!" Sasuke defended.

The other two males rolled their eyes at him. He didn't need to defend himself. Everyone knows that it's true.

* * *

Sakura Haruno was glad to busy herself with the piles of paperwork on her desk. Work helped distract her from everything else. She hated when her mind wandered because then she would see Sasuke's blood and his pale face. It terrified her more than anything else.

Involuntarily, her eyes started to droop. She shook herself awake and jumped when her office door bust open.

Naruto Uzumaki marched with purpose up to her desk. He put his hands on her desk and leaned forward. He had a determined look on his face.

"Naruto-?"

"You are gonna go see Sasuke-teme right now, Sakura-chan!" he ordered.

Sakura rubbed her temples and replied, "I can't, Naruto. I'm too busy."

He deftly snatched her pen out of her hand and threw it across the room.

"Naruto! That was my favorite pen!" she complained.

Naruto slammed his fist down on her desk, which made everything shake. Sakura looked up at him, surprised.

"Do you have any idea how you're making him feel?"

Naruto watched as a hurt and guilt filled expression spread across her tired face. Her eyes looked like they were being plagued by unstopping nightmares.

Sakura bit her lip and said, "Please Naruto-."

"No, Sakura-chan. I'm not going to let you avoid the love of your life because you thought he was going to die. You need to go and see that he _is alive_ and he wants to see you!" Naruto said softly but sternly.

Sakura was left stunned and speechless. Naruto always knows exactly what to say and it amazed her.

Before she could do or say anything, Naruto had ahold of her arm and was dragging her out of her office. People gave them strange and questioning looks as they made their way to the Uchiha's room.

When they were standing in front of the door to his room, Naruto let go of Sakura's arm.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked frantically.

"You can do this, Sakura-chan!" Naruto encouraged and took off.

Sakura gulped and nervously looked back at the door that she really didn't want to go through. All she wanted to do was go back to the safety of her office.

She let out a deep breath and carefully opened the door and quietly walked into the room. She was thankful to see that he was asleep.

Sakura shakily made her way to the chair beside his bed and sat in it. She gripped her hands to try and make them stop shaking.

Just when she thought her heart was going to pound out of her chest, it skyrocketed when his eyes opened to reveal beautiful pools of dark onyx. Sakura gulped when she felt her stomach start to flutter.

"Sakura…?" he asked, not really thinking that she was actually there.

"Y-Yeah?" she answered hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

The guilt took over once she heard the worry in his voice. She had been selfish. She could feel her eyes start to water and soon the tears escaped her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun! When you came here and was…God there was so much blood! I thought you were going to die, Sasuke-kun!" she burst out.

Everything hit Sasuke then. He understood why she had been avoiding him now. He remembered that day all those years ago when they had fought Haru and Zabuza and everyone thought that he had died. She had been devastated when she thought he was. This time, though, she had his life in her hands and even performed surgery on him. It must have been traumatizing.

"Don't apologize," he said while meeting her tired gaze.

"But-!"

Sasuke shook his head and wiped the tears from her soft cheeks. She gasped at the intimacy of his touch. He noticed how exhausted she looked. Her yawn even signaled it.

Sakura started to protest when he moved over on the bed.

"You shouldn't be moving, Sasuke-kun," she gave him a confused look, "what are you doing?"

"Come here, Sakura. You need to sleep," Sasuke ordered.

Sakura flushed red at what he was suggesting. Her body seemed to move on its own as it stood up and climbed into the bed. She fit into the space perfectly and she suddenly realized that the bed was awfully small. She was trying to be careful not to harm his injuries.

Sasuke noticed this and rolled his eyes. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer to him. He smirked at the blush that was prominent on her cheeks.

Sakura finally relaxed and leaned her head on his chest and her hand grasped the fabric of his shirt around his middle. Neither could stop the fluttering from happening inside their chest or the electricity travel through their nerves from the contact.

Sasuke nuzzled into her hair and reveled in the smell of it. He had missed her so much.

"Go to sleep, Sakura," he mumbled. She could hear the tiredness in his voice.

A smile made its way to her face as she said, "You're so bossy."

"And you're stubborn, so I have to be," he retorted.

She laughed and was shocked when she looked up at him. He had a small smile on his face. That was the first time she had ever seen him smiling. It made something soar inside of her.

Sakura grinned to herself and closed her green eyes.

"Goodnight, Sasuke-kun…"

Sasuke held onto her tighter and whispered, "Goodnight, Sakura."

* * *

_**"Love is like a river, always changing, but always finding you again somewhere down the road."**_

_**-Anon**_

* * *

**They still have a lot of issues to talk over, and they will get to it eventually. I promise! You will also find out some more about Sasuke's mission that caused all of this, unless I change my mind. **


	19. Chapter 19: Progress

**Here's the next chapter! I know I haven't updated in awhile, but I've been too busy with school starting back up again. *sigh* I can't wait until I graduate... I think you guys will enjoy this chapter. Just read and you'll see why! Oh and please review. I would greatly appreciate it!**

**-SakuraUchiha4Eternity**

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki walked proudly through Konoha's hospital and made his way towards his best friend's room. As he started to do just that, he could hear whispering coming from the nurses. He heard his two teammate's names quite frequently and then proceeded to tune in.

_"When I went in to check up on Uchiha-san, Haruno-san was…they were sleeping in the bed together…"_

_ "What?!" another nurse asked completely surprised. _

_ "Yeah! I was so surprised! They looked so cute together though…"_

_ "You don't think…?"_

_ "Yeah, I totally think they're a couple."_

_ "That's impossible though!" the nurse replied with a little bit of jealousy in her voice._

_ "No, it really isn't. They both looked so peaceful and he was holding onto her protectively. They're so together!" the other nurse protested._

_ "Whatever! I don't believe it!"_

_ "Thirty bucks says they are!" _

_ "Fifty says they aren't!"_

Naruto tuned out of the conversation and continued to make his way to Sasuke's room. He had a big grin on his face. He felt so proud that he had accomplished his goal. It sounded like he had successfully gotten his two best friends together finally. He felt so proud of himself.

He didn't bother to knock on Sasuke's door, and just barged right in. Sasuke just merely glanced at him as he marched in the room with bubbles of happiness and pride rolling off of him. Sasuke looked at him curiously.

"Dobe-."

Naruto clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Finally, Teme! It took long enough!"

Sasuke furrowed his brow and cringed from Naruto's shoulder pat. Kami he hurt everywhere. "What are you-?"

Naruto completely ignore him and interrupted, "But if you ever hurt Sakura-chan then I will have to kill you-."

Now it was Sasuke's turn to interrupt. "What are you talking about, you idiot?"

Naruto chuckled and said, "It's okay Sasuke-teme, I know that you and Sakura-chan are an item now."

Naruto only further confused him, and Sasuke hated to be confused. Where in the hell did Naruto get the idea that he and Sakura were together? They barely even talked last night because she had been so tired and she had to leave quickly the next morning because of an emergency surgery. They weren't together by any means….even if he wished it.

Sasuke messaged his temples and said, "We're not together."

Now it was Naruto's turn to be confused.

"What?"

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose and repeated, "We. Are. Not. Together."

"WHAT?!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke's headache pounded tenfold. Why was Naruto so fucking loud, Sasuke thought. Sasuke watched as Naruto satisfied expression turned to one of anger and confusion. He inwardly groaned because he knew that his headache was just about to get even worse.

"Why haven't you told her how you felt, Teme? I practically dragged her to your room last night so that you two could make up and fucking talk! You were supposed to confess, but I guess you were too much of a pussy to!" Naruto yelled.

"You were the reason that Sakura came to my room?"

Naruto instantly regretted his choice of words when he saw the hurt expression cross the dark haired male's face. Naruto face palmed and cursed to himself.

"Well…she kept on making excuses and I knew that she wanted to see you so I made her…" Naruto tried to recover.

Sasuke wasn't really listening to him anymore. Sakura had not even come on her own free will. Was he really that repulsive? Something inside of him hurt. It took him a few moments to realize that it was his heart. His life was so ironic. When they were younger Sakura had showered him with affection, and now….well now she didn't. She had confessed to him that night and all he gave her was a thank you and knocked her out. He had pushed her love away for so long, and now that he actually wanted it, she didn't return it anymore. Even though it hurt, he knew that it was what he deserved.

Naruto's hand slapping his face broke him from his thoughts. His onyx eyes met cerulean blue. He could feel the shock form out across his features.

"I want you to listen to me Sasuke, and listen well," Naruto said seriously.

Naruto had his rare and undivided attention.

"Yes I did drag Sakura here, but she could have easily refused to go in your room and with her superhuman strength, she could have resisted me and pummeled me. But she didn't. She went even though I could tell it caused her pain.

"Ever since day one, I knew how she felt about you. Sakura has always belonged to you whether you claimed her or not. You have hurt her in the past, yet she has always stayed loyal to you no matter what.

"I know her like the back of my hand, and I have never been more sure than anything that she loves you. I know that for a fact, Sasuke."

Naruto watched as Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He needed to understand.

"Sasuke, you have to tell her how you feel. I know that she won't ever tell you how she feels because she doesn't think that you have any feelings other than friendship towards her. She is too afraid of rejection from you. If you don't tell her and make the first move, then she will never know. She will not believe anyone except for you!" Naruto explained.

Sasuke let Naruto's words soak into him and he felt a little bit of hope come back inside of him. That's how Naruto is. He can make anyone have hope with just one of his speeches. Even though he can be an idiot, he sure is damn inspirational.

Sasuke now had a resolve set in his mind. He is going to tell Sakura how he feels. He wants to have a life with her. He can see himself growing old with her and having many children with her to restore his clan. He hoped they received her eyes and strong determination. He knows that he does not deserve her, but he needs her anyways. He has always needed her. She is the one who filled his lonely existence, and it is about time that he let her in.

Naruto was met with Sasuke's strong gaze. He could feel the determination seeping out of the dark male's pores. A grin made its way to Naruto's face.

* * *

"We have to climb a tree?" Emiko asked.

Sakura nodded.

"Well, what's the point in climbing a tree?" Hisoka asked arrogantly.

Sakura grinned and answered, "You are not just climbing a tree. You are going to climb without using your hands. The point is that you will improve on your chakra controlling abilities."

They all watched her with curious and awe filled expressions as she focused her chakra with ease to the soles of her feet. She planted her foot on the trunk of a tree and easily walked up it and on the branches and even walked upside down on a branch. She felt a triumphant grin make its way to her sweet face as she watched her students' awestruck faces. That is exactly how she had reacted when Kakashi taught her and her teammates this.

Sakura threw a kunai at each of their feet and said, "Whenever you're about to fall, mark it in the tree and the next time try to get past that point."

"This should be easy," Emiko and Hisoka said at the same time. They each gave each other weird looks and Akira giggled sweetly.

Sakura watched each of them focus their chakra to the soles of their feet and run towards a tree of their own. She almost laughed when Emiko pulled a Naruto and fell quickly and hit her head. Hisoka only got a little bit farther before he marked a spot on the tree.

"If you focus more chakra, Emiko-chan, then you will get farther," Akira said from a branch.

Sakura, Hisoka, and Emiko all looked to her in shock. Sakura felt a bubble of pride fill the inside of her. She remembered doing just that her first time. Akira would make a fine medical ninja someday, if she wished to.

"H-How did you do that!?"Emiko asked.

Akira blushed and Sakura said, "Well done, Akira. You have very good chakra control."

Akira's face became even redder from all of the attention that she was not used to. She gulped when she saw Hisoka's glare on her small form. She did not want her teammates to dislike her. She felt some pale blonde hair fall into her sky blue eyes and she pushed it away but it was to no avail. Her hair always was in her eyes.

"Good job, Akira-chan! And thanks for the advice!" Emiko yelled from below on the forest floor.

Emiko focused her chakra and ran at the tree again. She got as far as Hisoka when she had to mark the tree and fall back to the ground. She grinned and Hisoka glared at her.

Sakura grinned at her pupils and continued to watch them. The rivalry between Hisoka and Emiko was quite amusing and it also fueled them to do better. She knew that they would become even stronger because of it.

* * *

It wasn't until sundown that she dismissed them for their training. She walked leisurely to her apartment. She decided that she wouldn't mind taking the long way. Memories of her genin days had been all she could think about because of the training she had given her students. It brought back a lot of memories and she wanted to walk past the bench.

As she started to approach it, she was surprised to see Sasuke Uchiha sitting on it looking deep in thought. Seeing him there made that old pain flare up. Memories of that night welled up to the front of her mind where she preferred they would never return.

His dark eyes met her green ones and she saw something in them. She made her way to the bench and sat down beside him. She could not believe that she was actually doing this.

"We always seem to meet here," Sasuke's velvet voice broke through the silence.

Sakura looked over at him. Something seemed off about him and she could not place it. He seemed more vulnerable than usual.

"Why are you here, Sasuke-kun?" she asked quietly.

He shrugged and said, "For some reason I knew you would be here."

She let out a chuckle because that is what she had felt that night when he had left. Something inside her had told her to go to that spot. She didn't know who, what, how or why. She was just thankful.

He looked over at her and emerald clashed with onyx. They were both mesmerized with each other. They seemed to drown in each other's pools.

Sakura's heart was about to pound out of her chest so she quickly stood up and said, "I don't really like to stay here for very long."

"Ah," Sasuke said in understanding.

He noticed that she was now avoiding his gaze and he did not like that.

"Sakura."

She still would not look to him, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He appeared in front of her and lifted her chin up so that she would have to meet his strong gaze. Her eyes were wide with surprise.

"Do you still love me, Sakura?"

Sasuke could feel her whole body tense and she gulped. He saw her eyes dart around, looking for an escape.

"Do you?" he prompted.

She bit her lip and he was instantly drawn to them. They were pink and full and just perfect. He wanted to feel them against his own. He wanted to be the one to take her first kiss and make it him her last.

"W-Why are you asking me this?" she mumbled quietly.

If he hadn't been standing so close, he would not have heard her desperate question.

He smirked at her and let all of his walls down as he dipped his head down to her level and crashed his lips onto hers. Damn, they were as soft as they looked, maybe even more so. She was in too much shock to even respond to him. He released her lips and rested his forehead against hers.

Her face was a shade darker than her hair and her eyes grew darker in want and longing. In that moment, he knew how she felt. He could see it all inside those deep green pools of hers. She loved him; she loved him more than anything.

She brought her lips to his this time with a searing kiss. He kissed her back with fervor and everything that he had. He put everything into that kiss. He wanted to show her everything that he felt because he was always better with actions than he was with words.

When they broke for air the second time, his hands were resting on her small waist and she was gripping the front of his shirt.

"You can't be with anyone else," Sasuke said while never breaking her gaze.

"W-What?" she asked. She was surprised, confused, happy, and nervous all at the same time.

"Only me."

A beautiful smile broke out across her face as realization hit her. Sasuke loved her and he wanted to be with her. How was this actually possible? If this was a dream, then she would really hate to wake up from it.

"Only you," she agreed.

A foreign, crooked grin graced his perfect lips at her words. He had never been happier than he was at this exact moment. She wrapped her small arms around his neck and embraced him. For the first time in his life, he returned it. He let her in.

* * *

"_**Sometimes the things we can't change end up changing us." **_


End file.
